Award-winning
ROBERTA DONNAY’s tenth album, BLOSSOM-ing!, celebrates
the music of Blossom Dearie, whose wispy, delicate voice is the
perfect foil for Donnay’s own appealing sound. Music critic Bob
Leggett called Donnay’s voice “pure sugar and honey,” while JazzTimes
said, “With
her singularly enticing sound, few contemporary vocalists are as
well suited to dustily vintage material as jazz-blues stylist
Roberta Donnay."
Donnay,
a singer, composer, and producer, has been on the jazz and blues
scene for over three decades. She has performed and recorded with
some of the biggest names in the music industry and toured
throughout the U.S. and internationally, performing at clubs,
theatres, concert venues and jazz festivals.
Donnay
is a recipient of the prestigious ASCAP Composers Award for her
song, “One World,” which was selected as a world-peace anthem for
the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. Her music has been
heard on both film and TV, as well on Serious XM Radio. She has
received features in both DownBeat Magazine and JazzTimes
for her prior releases.
Her
earlier albums with her group, The Prohibition Mob Band, featured
swinging, danceable jazz popular in speakeasies from the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Donnay’s performances have become audience favorites as she
dresses in period clothing and assumes a gun mol character fronting
her band dressed as gangsters from the same time period.
Drawn
years ago to Blossom Dearie for her simple but swinging
storytelling, BLOSSOM-ing! is a true labor of love
for Donnay. Dearie was a minimalist with a kittenish voice and a
playful style. Donnay’s homage to Dearie captures her essence, but
she adds her own sassy, bluesy interpretations that audiences have
come to love.
Donnay
chose 16 songs associated with Dearie for the album, written by
diverse composers and lyricists. They include Peel Me A
Grape, Spring In Manhattan, Just One Of Those Things, The Party’s
Over, Moonlight Savings Time, and Someone To Watch Over Me, among
others.
Donnay
gathered some of Northern California’s finest jazz musicians
for BLOSSOM-ing!, including MIKE
GREENSILL (piano), RUTH DAVIES (bass), MARK LEE
(drums), JOSE NETO (guitar), DAVID STURDIVANT
(harmonica), and Los Angeles-based MB GORDY (percussion).
Having
a mentor can change your life and Roberta has been fortunate to
have had three top names in the music business who took her under
their wings – Bob Dorough, Dan Hicks, and jazz producer Orrin
Keepnews. All provided guidance, encouragement, and opportunities
for her vocal talents to shine.
Keepnews
loved her singing and offered to produce an album for her. They
began a friendship in which he shared his extensive knowledge of
jazz and the music industry with her.
One
of the longest and most important professional relationships Donnay
has experienced was with Dan Hicks, who blended elements of swing,
jazz, folk and country music to create his own unique sound with
his group The Hot Licks. Roberta worked and recorded with Dan over
the last ten years of his life, touring the country performing in
the group’s very theatrical shows.
Her
association with Bob Dorough, with whom she became friends,
provided the direct linkage to Blossom Dearie’s music, as he was
Dearie’s close friend and collaborator. After meeting him at the
Hooker’s Ball in San Francisco in the 1990s, Donnay recorded two of
his songs on What’s Your Story?, produced by Keepnews. They
shared musical tastes and became fast friends, and in 2011, Donnay
recorded five songs with Dorough. They recorded several of the
duets he had performed with Blossom, and he shared his personal
insights into Blossom’s life and music. Roberta’s appreciation of
Blossom’s music only grew deeper, inspiring her some twenty years
later to create BLOSSOM-ing!, this tribute album that
truly captures Blossom’s essence.
# # #
BLOSSOM-ing! is set for release on October 21, 2022 on
Village Jazz Café and will be available everywhere.
ONLINE:
Robertadonnay.com
Facebook.com/robertadonnay
@robertadonnay
(Twitter)
@donnayroberta
(IG)
Personal
Management:
Ed Harris Management
Harrisartistmgmt.com
UPCOMING
CD RELEASE SHOWS:
Tuesday,
October 18th
Chelsea
Table & Stage (New York)
-
With the Prohibition Mob Band
Wednesday,
October 19th
Catalina
Jazz Club (Los Angeles)
-
Shared show with Michelle Coltrane
(with
Mike Greensill, Karl Vincent, MB Gordy)
Friday,
October 21st
San
Diego Radio – KSDS Jazz 88
With
Gary Beck (10AM-12Noon)
Saturday,
October 29th
Piedmont
Piano (Oakland)
(with
Mike Greensill, Ruth Davies, Mark Lee)
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