Early life and education
Eade is the daughter of an American
Air Force officer and a Swiss mother. She grew up in a musical household which moved around frequently in the
United States and
Europe. She studied
piano as a child and by second grade had decided she would be a singer. As a young teenager, she picked up
guitar, and learned
folk,
pop, and jazz songs, as well as writing some songs of her own. Her first gigs were in coffee houses in
Stuttgart, where she attended high school. She attended college at
Vassar, studying English, but also sang in a jazz group, Naima, which also included
Poughkeepsie native
Joe McPhee. She transferred briefly to
Berklee College of Music before finishing her degree at
New England Conservatory (NEC) in
Boston, where pianist
Ran Blake became an important mentor and performing colleague.
Boston
Eade stayed in Boston after graduating, and began teaching at NEC. She was active in the local jazz scene in the 1980's, forming groups with artists such as
Mick Goodrick,
Donald Brown and
Bill Pierce. She also traveled within the United States and Europe as a performer and clinician. In addition to jazz, she also performed
contemporary classical music, and sang solos with
Boston Musica Viva,
Composers in Red Sneakers,
NuClassix. She also performed with jazz
big bands
Orange Then Blue and the
Either/Orchestra. In 1987 she became the first jazz artist to be accepted into the NEC Artist Diploma program, where she studied for two years with
Dave Holland and
Stanley Cowell.
New York
She moved to
New York City in 1990 and released her first CD,
The Ruby and the Pearl
, which featured
Alan Dawson and Stanley Cowell, for
Accurate Records. She maintained her teaching position at NEC, and performed in a variety of contexts including soloist roles in two
Anthony Braxton operas, duo restaurant performances with Gene Bertoncini, an adventurous trio with
Ben Street and Kenny Wollesen performing weekly in the East Village, and duos with
Mark Helias and
Peter Leitch. She played at
The Village Gate,
The Five Spot, Birdland, Visiones, and Cornelia Street Café with groups including
Larry Goldings,
John Medeski,
Fred Hersch,
Kevin Hays, James Genus, Gregory Hutchinson, and Tom Rainey. She recorded her second CD,
My Resistance is Low
, featuring fellow Brooklyn resident and frequent collaborator Bruce Barth, George Mraz, and
Lewis Nash.
Return to Boston
Just before returning to Boston in 1996 to begin a family, Eade was contacted by
RCA Records'
Steve Backer and signed with the label later that year. She recorded two CDs for RCA,
When the Wind Was Cool
(featuring
Benny Golson, Fred Hersch, James Genus, and
Matt Wilson), and
The Long Way Home
(with Dave Holland and Victor Lewis). These recordings highlighted her arranging and songwriting skills.
While raising two small children, Eade toured in the United States and Europe to support the two RCA recordings. Afterwards, for a few years, she mostly focused on composing and local Boston performances. In 2001, at the request of
Columbia Records, Eade recorded a demo of her newer songs. Later, Eade began to record more original material with pianist Jed Wilson whom she met while he was a student at NEC. Eade and Wilson released a CD of duets, Open, in the fall of 2006. Eade also began to reemerge in New York, first with Ran Blake, then in duos and quartets with Jed Wilson, Ben Street, Matt Wilson, and in duo with guitarist Brad Shepik, all receiving critical recognition.
Current life
Eade currently lives near Boston with her husband, saxophonist Allan Chase, and their two sons. She has been on the faculty of New England Conservatory since 1984 and also teaches privately in New York. Her students have included
Luciana Souza, Kate McGarry, Sara Lazarus, Lisa Thorson, Julie Hardy, Patrice Williamson, Kris Adams,
David Devoe, Aoife O'Donovan, Roberta Gambarini, and many others.