Born Catherine Markowitz in Los Angeles, California on April 28, 1956, Kate Markowitz is the daughter of TV / film composer Richard Markowitz. Originally a backing vocalist for artists such as James Taylor, k.d.lang, George Benson, Sergio Mendes, France Gall, Carole King, and Shawn Colvin, the singer has released music under her own name as well as releases using the pseudonym, Kate Yanai. In 1991, she recorded “Bacardi Feeling” a song for a German Bacardi Rum ad campaign, under the name Kate Yanai. The song caught the imagination of the German public and Kate was asked to head back into the studio and record a version of the song with new lyrics. The single, retitled “Summer Dreamin’”, hit the Number 1 spot on the German singles chart within two weeks and stayed there for nearly two months. She recorded one more song under the name Kate Yanai, 1994’s “Cry Cry Louise”, before opting out of a commercial pop-oriented solo career. She returned to studio session work before releasing her first proper studio album under her real name, Map of the World (2003), which featured guest appearance from Shawn Colvin and James Taylor.
