Sara Dosa

One of the few great things about lockdown for me was the opportunity to discover and share some wonderful solo violin music, both old and new, via YouTube. In a time when I couldn't work with other musicians or play to live audiences, I felt I could still connect and relate to you, my virtual audience, through music.

Known in her heyday as "the blues sensation of the West," the big-voiced Sara Martin was one of the best of the classic female blues singers of the '20s. Martin began her career as a vaudeville performer, switching to blues singing in the early '20s. In 1922, she began recording for OKeh Records, cutting a number of bawdy blues like "Mean Tight Mama." She continued recording until 1928. During this time, Martin became a popular performer on the southern Theater Owners' Booking Association circuits, eventually playing theaters and clubs on the east coast as well. In the early '30s, Sara Martin retired from blues singing and settled in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. While she was in Louisville, she ran a nursing home and occasionally sang gospel in church. Sara Martin died after suffering a stroke in 1955.

The legendary concert from 2001 at which Sara K. and Günter Pauler met for the first time - and the years of collaboration began. Sara is accompanied on five tracks by Chris Jones, whose encounter also resulted in wonderful recordings…