Barbara Fasano

CD Release Concert at Birdland - Thursday, December 10 at 6pm

The complexities of love and the circles we all swirl within are explored in BUSY BEING FREE, the new CD by vocalist Barbara Fasano (“one of the coolest singers in town ...  a singer of restrained but deeply felt emotion” – Time Out New York).  The album boasts a line-up of all-star jazzmen, led by pianist/arranger John di Martino, known for his work with Grady Tate, Freddy Cole, Pat Martino and the late Ray Barretto.

The 14 tracks run the gamut from well-known standards (“Surrey With The Fringe On Top”, “Dancing In The Dark”) to rarer tunes such as “Roundabout”, “Remind Me” and “Photographs”, a collaboration between composer Alec Wilder and Beat lyricist Fran Landesman. The CD’s title comes from Joni Mitchell’s “Cactus Tree”, and the record takes a deep dive into a woman’s point of view, with other female lyricists including Carolyn Leigh and Nellie Lutcher. Barbara celebrates the release with a concert at Birdland Jazz Club on Thursday, December 10 at 6pm.  She will be joined by John di Martino, piano; Boris Kozlov, bass; and Vince Cherico, percussion.

“Years ago, when I graduated college, I lived in San Francisco,” says Barbara.  “The west coast seemed wide open to me and I said yes to everything. “Cactus Tree” was a kind of credo and I took it at face value.  Now I see there are always prices to pay for the choices we make.  I’ve always wanted to record this song, and suddenly when the CD began to come together I realized that the story Joni tells is really the heart of the record -- how we always try to have it all, how it’s not easy, and how the searching for it is really what matters.  You don’t need the answers.  You just need to want to ask the questions.” 

“She found her calling in singing wise, literate songs about life in all its confusing wonder … She seems incapable of singing an unintelligent or unmusical phrase.” – Author James Gavin, from the CD’s liner notes

In the years since their last CD collaboration, the award-winning Harold Arlen collection “Written In The Stars”, Barbara & John have been refining their search for material for this new record.  When the time came, John’s arrangements were brought to life by the first-call jazz ensemble on the record:  Boris Kozlov, Vince Cherico, Aaron Heick, Paul Meyers and the cornet star, Warren Vaché.  “I am so grateful for the beautiful soul these amazing musicians brought to the music … I couldn’t tell these stories in the same way without them,” says Barbara.

Barbara’s unique approach to material ranging from Harold Arlen to Joni Mitchell has earned her three Backstage Bistro awards, four MAC awards (Major Duo Artists with Eric Comstock), and the New York Nightlife award. Fasano headlines at venues from Birdland and Jazz at Kitano to Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and concert halls and jazz festivals across the country and in London.  Praised by Stephen Holden in The New York Times as “a lyrically sensitive interpreter”, her other recordings include “Barbara Fasano”, “Written in the Stars”, and The Girls of Summer”.

Artist Website: www.barbarafasano.com

Birdland Jazz Club

315 West 44th Street, New York, New York NY 10036

(between 8th and 9th Avenues on the west side of midtown Manhattan).

From: Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services

e-mail: jim@jazzpromoservices.com

http://www.jazzpromoservices.com