The daughter of an American Air Force officer, she spent much of her childhood moving around, living in different places in Europe. Eade had piano lessons as a child and decided that she was going to be a singer when she was in the second grade; she also played guitar as a teenager while living mostly in Germany. An English major at Vassar, Eade for a time sang in a band called Naima that also included Joe McPhee. She soon transferred to Berklee College and also attended the New England Conservatory of Music; Ran Blake was one of her more significant teachers. She has taught at the New England Conservatory since 1984 while working as a singer. Eade, who is also a talented composer, recorded two CDs for Accurate (1991 and 1994) that gained some attention, and in 1997 recorded her debut for RCA, a tribute to June Christy and Chris Connor. ~ Scott Yanow