Congratulations to the great cabaret singer Phoebe Legere, whose residency at Iridium has been extended thru May!!
Ms. Legere plays a supremely musical and fun set every Tuesday and if you haven't caugh the rock nyc fave, you have another chance to be blown away by this gifted musician.
We mentioned before that Phoebe Legere quoted rock nyc on her poster, along with the Times and the Post… Here is the context:
Phoebe Legere, a composer, recording artist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and singer with a four-octave range who’s also a powerhouse of keyboard virtuosity, will appear at New York’s famed Iridium Jazz Club, Broadway and 51st Street. Her new show Ooh la la Coq Tail with her quartet will be performed on the third Tuesday of the month, beginning January 18 and through March 15. Shows are at 7 and 9 P.M. There’s a $25 music charge, and $10 food/drink minimum.
Directed by award-winning director Eric Michael Gillette, the act features songs from Legere’s just released CD of the same name, including “Playing Me Like a Piano,” “Sex is Love,” “Sometimes It Snows in Las Vegas,” and her hit ‘Marilyn Monroe.’ She duets with George Leonard on “I Love Myself When I’m with You” and ‘Bye, Bye, Cutie Pie.’
In addition to her musical talents, the Vassar and Juilliard-educated Legere is a painter, poet, and filmmaker.
Rock NYC wrote: ”Her songs are startlingly beautiful.’
The New York Post called her a ‘superb singer miles above the rock stars of today.’
Variety said, ” Legere’s fine, four-octave voice easily goes from horn like contralto to crystal soprano. There’s a winsome sweetness…and an aching, longing…a rare originality and vitality…’
The New York Times raved: ‘(Legere is) a charismatic showman who works the audience with the razor edged skill of a veteran comic poking, teasing, and caressing it with clever turns of phrase both musical and verbal…She plays the piano with enormous authority in a style that encompasses Chopin, blues, ragtime, bebop and beyond, and she brings to her vocal delivery a four and a half octave range, and an extraordinary palette of tonal color and meticulous phrasing. ‘
and in 2008, Liz Smith of the Daily News crowned her with the ultimate singer-pianist accolade: ‘Everybody is saying Phoebe Legere is the new Bobby Short.’
Legere is also that rare contemporary artist who’s a prize-winning accordionist.
Legere calls Ooh la la Coq Tail ‘graphic jazz.’ The multi-media program showcases her ‘sensual, provocative, and vibrantly-colored paintings’ on five wide-screens.
She’s been compared to Beethoven, Frank Zappa, and Bobby Short. After the success of “Marilyn Monroe” (Island Records), Legere played concerts and jazz festivals. Her Blue Curtain (Einstein Records) was nominated as a Top 10 CD of the decade; and she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her work with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony.
At Iridium, Legere will be accompanied by George Leonard on guitar and violin, Ray Marchiko on drums, and Jon Burr on bass. Leonard doubles as Legere’s “love foil” in the act. He’s a multi-talented musician/composer. As lead singer of Georgie Porgie & the Crybabies, he opened for the the Rolling Stones on their U.S. tour.Miss Legere opened for David Bowie on his U.S. tour.
Legere’s just released CD, Ooh la la Coq Tail, is available at iTunes. It features 16 tracks, mixing original songs and standards by Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Ellington, Porter, and Charles Trenet. Album art is by famed print and Broadway poster illustrator Hillary Knight, known for creating the classic Eloise character with Kay Thompson.
Million Watts of Sound wrote: “Ooh la la Coq Tail is an album not to miss, Phoebe’s voice is absolutely delightful and complements this collection of jazzy melodies perfectly . . . this album is both fun and flirty and sensual . . . Phoebe’s piano playing is captivating.”
For more information, visit www.phoebelegere.com.