Hartt, Lisa Band

Websites:  https://www.lisaharttmusic.com/home/bio/
Origin: La Tuque - Dorval - Montréal, Québec, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Lisa Hartt is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose voice, spirit, and songwriting have resonated through more than five decades of musical evolution. From Montreal’s coffeehouse folk scene to major label recordings, European tours, and recent international acclaim, her journey is one of resilience, reinvention, and deep emotional truth.

Born in Montreal and raised in La Tuque and Dorval, Quebec, Lisa was raised in a family of bold, visionary thinkers. Her father, Jan Eisenhardt, was a Danish-born athlete and Canadian public servant who led the country’s National Physical Fitness Program in the 1940s. Her mother, Barbara Eisenhardt, was a vocal advocate for civil rights and social justice. From this powerful lineage, Lisa inherited a lifelong sense of purpose—combining artistry with advocacy and healing.

She began singing professionally at the age of ten, earning her first $10 for a church choir commercial, and by her teens was immersed in Montreal’s thriving folk and protest song circuit. After a string of early projects—including singles under the name Lisa Taan and stints in harmony groups like The Lonesome Valley Three—Hartt's powerful stage presence led her overseas. In the late 1960s she joined the all-female big band The Christine Lee Set, performing across Europe and the Middle East, including a yearlong residency at the Cairo Sheraton during the Six-Day War. These experiences would later form the inspiration for her 2024 single “The Night I Learned to Dance.”

Returning to Canada in the early 1970s, Hartt connected with Mashmakhan alumni Rayburn Blake and Brian Edwards to form Riverson, a short-lived but legendary folk-psych group whose 1973 Columbia album has since become a collector’s classic. This collaboration set the stage for Lisa to front her own group: The Lisa Hartt Band.

Formed in 1975, the Lisa Hartt Band combined jazz-fusion sensibilities with melodic rock and soul, reflecting Lisa’s evolving songwriting voice. The lineup featured Lisa (vocals, guitar), Rayburn Blake (guitar), Denny Gerrard (bass), Richard Yuen (keyboards), and Marty Cordrey (drums). Their sole LP Starwatcher (Rising Records, 1976), produced by Phil Ramone, Ralph Murphy, and the band, showcased Hartt's range and lyrical depth. The single “Old Time Movie” gained national radio play and led to a JUNO nomination for Most Promising Female Vocalist. That same year, the band opened for Gino Vannelli at Massey Hall and appeared in CBC television specials including Ladies Night alongside Anne Murray and Phoebe Snow.

After the band’s dissolution, Hartt embarked on a diverse creative path, participating in the cast recording of Rockabye Hamlet (1977), forming groups such as Lisa Hartt and the Times, and exploring R&B, rock, and even ska through her outfit Muscles of Expression. She also co-hosted the international CBC/Swedish TV special Listen to the Music with Bruce Cockburn and ABBA. In the 1980s she opened for Nina Simone and recorded across Canada, the U.S., and Wales, while raising a family and completing an honours degree in Communication Arts at Concordia University.

A transformative chapter began in the 1990s when Hartt studied sound healing and became an accredited sound practitioner and reiki master. Her return to music as a tool for personal and collective healing became central to her mission.

In 2022, after years of introspection and recovery, she released Arrival—a stunning comeback EP produced by Chris Birkett. The lead single, “Don’t Tell Me How I Feel,” was written in memory of her brother Christopher, who died as a result of mental illness. The song marked Hartt’s emergence as an outspoken advocate for mental health and ambassador for the Birdsong Foundation.

Her recent work has drawn international attention. In 2023 and 2024, she performed at Sweden’s Lillaby Festivalen, was honoured with the Cashbox Legacy Award at the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm, and recorded Songs From the Hiraeth with Janne Schaffer (ABBA) and songwriter Jonas Gideon, set for release in 2025.

Lisa Hartt’s music blends folk, jazz, soul, and rock—but it is her voice, both literal and poetic, that binds everything together. Whether through her earliest work in the 1960s, her celebrated Starwatcher era, or her powerful new material, Hartt continues to connect with audiences across generations. Her mantra remains clear:

“Don’t die while the song is still in you.”

And for Lisa Hartt, the music is still unfolding.
-Robert Williston