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SHAKESPEARE AND ALL THAT JAZZ The Bard's own words set to music by John Dankworth, Arthur Young, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn Jazz jazz vocalist Christiana Drapkin celebrates the beauty and power of William Shakespeare's poetry and presents it in lively, sometimes haunting jazz arrangements. Christiana was inspired to develop this project after finding a 1964 recording by Cleo Laine, "Shakespeare and all that Jazz", on Fontana Records. John Dankworth had composed many of these arrangements for his wife; the rest were some light-hearted settings by composer Arthur Young. Quite unjustly, they seemed to have been forgotten and deserve to be heard again. The same holds true for a poignant setting of a sonnet by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, from the suite "Such Sweet Thunder". The Christiana Drapkin Jazz Group conducts both, concert performances for festivals and performance series, as well as high-school and college classroom workshops and concerts. The group's collaborative approach addresses the educational needs of the music, theater, and English literature curriculum in an enjoyable and dynamic way. The members of the group are graduates of music, drama, and history departments at Smith College, Boston University, and SUNY Empire State College respectively. As professional performers, they have also continued their education at other universities and in private studies with actively performing musicians and teachers. View a video of a live performance at the Kennedy-Center Washington, DC Vocalist Christiana Drapkin and her group celebrate the beauty and power of William Shakespeare's poetry and present it in lively, sometimes haunting jazz arrangements. Christiana was inspired to develop this project after finding a 1964 recording by Cleo Laine, "Shakespeare and all that Jazz", on Fontana Records. John Dankworth had composed many of these arrangements for his wife; the rest were some light-hearted settings by composer Arthur Young. Quite unjustly, they seemed to have been forgotten and deserve to be heard again. The same holds true for a poignant setting of a sonnet by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, from the suite "Such Sweet Thunder". In concerts and workshops, the group intersperses the Shakespeare material with lighter but no lesser fare, standards from the Great American Songbook, which address the same age-old themes that were already sung about in the Bard's day. The song selections are direct quotations from Shakespeare's plays and treatments of his sonnets in their entirety: If Music Be the Food of Love (Twelfth Night) CHRISTIANA DRAPKIN - VOCALS Through her continuing jazz studies with pianist Charles Sibirsky, she has developed a deep connection to the American standards and bebop repertoire. Combined with her voice training under vocal coach Barbara Feller, Christiana is known for her fearless and soaring improvisation lines, as well as for her highly personal delivery of lyrics. She has taken a lot of inspiration from workshops with well-known vocalists Tierney Sutton, Sheila Jordan, and Mark Murphy. Christiana has been performing in clubs and at festivals on the Eastern Seaboard for almost twenty years. She has released three CDs, "The Man I Love", "Songs About You", and most recently "Got The World On A String", which feature fresh takes on standards, from Porter and Gershwin to Parker and Monk, in addition to original compositions by some of her favorite fellow-musicians. Two years ago, Christiana presented this concert at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage in Washington, DC. Since then, the group has played this unique program to delighted audiences in the Northeast. MICHAEL KANAN - PIANO From 1995 to 2001, Kanan was the accompanist for vocal great Jimmy Scott, with whom he toured the United States, Europe, and Japan, gave numerous TV and radio performances, and recorded three CDs. For the last four years, he has been pianist/arranger for the Jane Monheit band. With Monheit, he has toured the US, Europe, Japan, Brazil, and Canada, and has performed on her recent recordings. Besides his work accompanying vocalists, Michael has also played in several instrumental settings. He performed in New York with guitar wizard Kurt Rosenwinkel, and with him recorded the popular CD "Intuit" for Criss-Cross. Michael is a founding member of the International Hashva Orchestra, which also includes Mark Turner and Jorge Rossy. This group, which took a fresh look at the concepts of Tristano, toured Europe several times and recorded twice for the Swiss label TCB. Michael has also led his own trio, with bassist Ben Street and drummer Tim Pleasant on two recordings for Fresh Sound New Talent, "The Gentleman Is A Dope", and "Convergence". This year, Criss-Cross published his latest release with his longtime collaborator, saxophonist Nat Su from Zurich, "Dreams and Reflections". STEPHANIE GREIG - STRING BASS MICHAEL PETROSINO - DRUMS Information and booking for concerts & workshops: (917) 693-4428 |