elizabeth! » piano

Banjo Jim’s Tonight

elizabeth — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:36:30 +0000

Tonight I’ll be performing my original music and some great old jazz songs from the 1920s and 1930s! Jason Domnarski joins me on piano.

Banjo Jim’s
SW corner of Avenue C and 9th Street
New York, NY
7:00 – 8:30pm
No cover!

Inspiring Female Musicians

elizabeth — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:04:52 +0000

When I tell someone that I play the trombone and sing for a living, some people look at me as though I have 3 heads.

Female instrumentalists have a hard time breaking through into the consciousness of the general public. But there are amazing women working in this business, and I plan to spotlight several of them in the coming months.

Here’s a short list of inspirations to get your learning started (or continued). These women happen to be mostly based in the jazz world, but women are in all genres!

TRUMPET
Kiku Collins
Ingrid Jensen
Cameron Harder Handel

SAXOPHONE
Jane Ira Bloom
Jessy J
Layla Angulo
April Leslie
Anat Cohen
Jessica Lurie

TROMBONE
elizabeth!
Jen Baker
Sarah Morrow

PIANO
Dawn Clement
Yayoi Ikawa

BASS
Debbie Kennedy
Hagar Ben-Ari
Katie Thiroux

DRUMS
Allison Miller
Sylvia Cuenca

GUITAR
Amanda Monaco
Mary Halvorson

This is just a tiny fraction of currently working women… please add a comment with more of your favorites!

Freddy Cole

elizabeth — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:23:26 +0000

Last week, I went to hear Freddy Cole at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. I’ve been a fan of his for several years, and through my friend and his guitarist, Randy Napoleon, I’ve come to know him.

Freddy is an amazing and tasteful pianist, but this was the first time I’ve seen him stand and sing with another musician (John di Martino) at the keys. Dressed in a fine suit, he amiably and expertly sang to the rapt crowd. He is a joy to watch and listen to, because he is, as Todd Barkan said as he introduced him, a storyteller.

And the stories he chooses to tell…. well, the songs are gems. How many times have we heard the Gershwin standard “Someone to Watch Over Me”? In Freddy’s hands, it was brand new again – if only he had someone… and we ached for him.

Here’s the set list -

Because of You
This Love of Mine
Someone to Watch Over Me
The Continental
Live for Life
Wild as Love
It Could Happen to You
You Must Believe in Spring
What Now, My Love?

Freddy is, of course, the younger brother of Nat “King” Cole. Though he has many similarities, Freddy is his own man – and musician. Check him out! Or leave a comment about what you love to hear him sing…