Joe's Pub Presents Gay Marshall Sings Piaf

By: Sep. 03, 2010
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Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance. With its genre-blind booking and vast diversity of interests, the stage at Joe's Pub gives voice to a world of varied and stellar artists.

OCT 1-3

GAY MARSHALL SINGS PIAF: QUEEN OF HEART

Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 PM; $25

"An enchanting performer who sings with heart stirring transparency and possesses Piaf's spirit as well as the throbbing mixture of steel and cotton in the voice." - Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

"It takes a brave singer to take on the Edith Piaf songbook. It takes a special one to pull it off so heart-piercingly." - Adam Feldman, Time Out New York.

Piano and Musical Direction Eric Svejcar

Violin Deni Bonet

Cello Jim Pederson

Bass Steve Gilewski

Accordion Art Bailey

Gay Marshall, a Billboard Top World Music Artist, reprises her smashing concert - PIAF: Queen of Heart - at Joe's Pub on October 1 at 7:00 PM. Gay Marshall has been enchanting audiences with her extraordinary take on the late French icon: a celebration rather than an imitation, Gay presents Piaf as a versatile powerhouse of heartwarming and heartbreaking emotion, full of personality and humor.

As Marshall told NPR's Scott Simon recently, "Piaf is always portrayed as ‘the poor thing,'" "... but I find her much more magic than tragic."

PIAF: Queen of Heart is based on Marshall's CD, Gay Marshall Sings Piaf, La Vie l'Amour, which listed in BILLBOARD in January 2010 as a #12 Hot Shot Debut. Marshall's previous engagement of PIAF: Queen of Heart had audiences on their feet every night, and landed her on Time Out's 2009 10 Best music list. "It takes a brave singer to take on the Edith Piaf songbook," wrote Adam Feldman of Time Out New York, "it takes a special one to pull it off so heart-piercingly."

Marshall delivers the dramatic repertoire - including her own English adaptations - with an unusual mix of the well known (L'Accordeoniste and Padam Padam) and the rare (Avec Ce Soleil and The Lady From Pigalle), accompanied by a superb five piece ensemble led by Eric Svejcar. The original arrangements by Marshall and Paul Bevan put a modern twist on a classical theme. BistroAwards.com praised the way Marshall "fiercely inhabits every song." Cabaret Scenes described her as "mesmerizing," and wrote "Gay Marshall amazes at every turn as she embodies the passion, spirit, joy, humor and tragedy of Piaf."

Marshall played Diana Morales in A Chorus Line on Broadway, created Grizabella in the French production of Cats, and has written and performed two one woman shows which have played at theaters in Paris as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Missouri Rep, The Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival and the Victory Theater. She has worked frequently in European theater since falling in love with French photographer, Jean-Louis Blondeau (Man On Wire). Lately, Marshall re-captured the attention of New York audiences with her performance in the Zipper Theater's revival of ‘Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris.' Charles Isherwood wrote of Marshall in the New York Times, "To hear her sing Brel's despairing ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas,' ....is to experience Brel's art in its purest and most persuasive form." Marshall, who began a singing career with her own Dixieland band in her home town of Cleveland, Ohio, is currently completing production on a new CD of her favorite 20's and 30's blues tunes inspired by that experience.

STEPHANE WREMBEL CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF DJANGO REINHARDT IN NYC
featuring LAURENT HESTIN & DOMINIC MUZEAU

Friday, October 1 at 9:00 & 11:00 PM; $20 per show / $35 combo ticket to both shows

"The fastest fingers this side of Django Reinhardt" - Metro NY

Ten years ago, Stephane Wrembel arrived in the USA from France with his bag and his guitar, carrying with him a very rare musical form: the art of Django's guitar. Stephane spent many years in the gypsies' campsites, playing for hours around caravans and campfires, learning the traditional guitar craft, and taking lessons with the greatest masters in Paris. Among them: Serge Krief, Angelo Debarre and Moreno. A decade ago, Stephane became the first musician to bring this secretive and captivating art form to the States, and to this day he remains the style's unique representative in North America.

To celebrate his ten year anniversary in the new continent, Wrembel presents two shows covering the entire Django's musical history. Featuring two French masters: Laurent Hestin, Wrembel's first guitar teacher, who tours with Babik Reinhardt, Toure Kunda and Dave Liebman, a master of Django's style but also a unique voice in the guitar world and a true virtuosic musician; and Dominic Muzeau, Wrembel's former bass player, and an extremely active bass player in the French and European scene.

9:30 set: Stephane Wrembel plays Django Reinhardt & the Hot Club of France (1934-1939)

Django Reinhardt created this new sound in the early 30s, using a unique combination of strings (3 guitars, bass and the unsurpassable Stephane Grappelli on violin). The first set will focus on this early period, which established the foundation of Django's signature sound. The exciting and upbeat music is characterized by2 rhythm guitars and a bass, while solo guitar and violin trade frantic and virtuosic melodies and improvisations. This set will be performed in this traditional orientation and feature some of Reinhardt's earliest compositions.

11:30 set: Stephane Wrembel plays late Django Reinhardt and the Gypsies

From the beginning of the second world war right up to Reinhardt's untimely death in 1953, Django was constantly expanding his vocabulary and the originality of his compositions, drawing from a vast variety of influential music surrounding him including the rhythms of South America and fiery intensity of bebop instrumentalists. This second period of Django's creative life is marked by a change in instrumentation, most obvious in its use of percussion, bass and one guitar as a rhythm section, solo guitar and the addition of clarinet as a melodic instrument. This second set will feature the new sounds and compositions explored during the latter portion of Django's life, and will feature added percussion and clarinet performing Reinhardt's most famous composition, Nuages, and many others Including Rhythm Future or Douce Ambiance.

VICTOIRE

Saturday, October 2 at 7:30 PM

On October 2nd all-female chamber-rock quintet Victoire comes to Joe's Pub to celebrate the release of their debut album Cathedral City on New Amsterdam Records. The album is the follow up to their critically-acclaimed EP A Door Into The Dark, which was handpicked for release last spring through eMusic's exclusive "Selects" series. City was written by Victoire founder/composer/performer Missy Mazzoli and features guest appearances from Bryce Dessner of The National, acclaimed composer/performer William Brittelle and versatile vocalist Mellissa Hughes. Mazzoli founded Victoire in 2007 and the ensemble of Brooklyn-based, classically-trained women has proven to be the perfect vehicle for her distinctive blend of post-rock dreamscapes and quirky minimalism. Deemed "one of the most surprising composers now working in New York" by The New York Times and "Brooklyn's Post-Millennial Mozart" by Time Out New York, Missy fuses lo-fi electronics, keyboards, strings and winds into

GAIDA

Saturday, October 2 at 9:30 PM; $20

Vocalist Gaida is known for her original and highly personal style marked by great emotional intensity. The "Syrian Nightingale" "evokes the emotional storminess of legendary singers like Warda and Om Kalthoum," but her remarkable abilities to improvise and expand on traditional Arabic maqams "suggest all new exotic possibilities."

In her debut album "Levantine Indulgence" Gaida exposes her innermost emotions using her powerful yet refined and expressive voice. Each song is at its core about love, longing and caring. In Gaida's own words, "I will always sing with tears close to my eyes, beats pounding my fragile heart, and care wrapping the world."

The wide range of musical styles heard within Gaida's music reflects the diversity of her background. One song may capture the vocal finesse and tenderness of Fairuz, or highly ornate vocal stylings reminiscent of Oum Kalthoum, contrasted by a slow, sultry blues number, followed by a Brazilian, samba-like piece. These various styles flow together organically and naturally; tied together by Gaida's depth of soul and her evocative and expressive voice, which transcends genre and drives directly into the listener's heart.

ERIC ANDERSEN / JOHN MCEUEN

Sunday, October 3 at 7:00 PM; $27

"Andersen is the most elegant of singers. He is powered by the singular mix of irony and high romanticism." Rolling Stone

"A singer and songwriter of the first rank." The New York Times.

"Eric Andersen is a great ballad singer." Bob Dylan (on stage at the Oslo Forum)

Eric Andersen first came to prominence as a performer in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s and immediately became part of the Village folk and songwriter scene along with Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan and became one of the founders of the singer songwriter movement. His first LP for Vanguard was released in 1965. Over the past 40 years he has released over 25 CDs of original music including titles such as Today is the Highway, More Hits From Tin Can Alley, Blue River, Ghosts Upon The Road, Memory of The Future, Beat Avenue, The Street Was Always There, and Waves. His poetical songs have entertained and captivated audiences worldwide.

John McEuen is a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which formed in August, 1966. They are now in their 41st year and have continually played over 6,000 shows and traveled 3 million miles to do it. They have performed on over 200 television shows.

John is the only Californian musician to perform solo on the Grand Ole Opry, then play it several times with his band, and be featured as a guest with several of the Opry member acts. He has recorded with the Nashvilles Country music creators, and had records in the pop and country charts. He instigated what Rolling Stone (in 1972) called 'the' most important record to come out of Nashville, and what the 2004 ZAGAT survey called the most important record in country music, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

As a multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle) and solo entertainer, John McEuen plays to the boomer hippie crowd, the traditional/bluegrass and folk audience, as well as the older country audience, and now the younger crowd is showing up to see where it all came from. Twenty percent are under the age of 30. John has made over 40 albums (six solo) that have earned four platinum and four gold recognition awards, Grammy nominations, CMA and ACM awards, Western Heritage Award, Emmy nomination, and IBMA record of the year award. In addition, John has performed on another 25 albums as guest artist. He has produced over 200 concerts (his first one being with Bob Dylan in 1965).

FALL IN WITH JUSTIN BOND
feat Musical Director LANCE HORNE & Special Guests THE ONES

Sundays, October 3, 10 & 31, November 7, 14, 21, December 5 at 9:30 PM; $20

"Justin Bond is a trans-Atlantic cabaret messiah" - Time Out London

Recently described as "A bar of gold in the new depression" by Hilton Als in the New Yorker, singer, songwriter and Tony-nominated performance artist Justin Bond is an Obie, Bessie and Ethyl Eichelberger Award winner and was named one of the top 40 favorite New Yorkers by Time Out New York and was listed by Time Out London as one of England's 50 Funniest People. His debut EP Pink Slip was released in July 2009. In 2008, he won rave reviews for his GLAAD nominated show Lustre which premiered at PS122 in the East Village and then went on to tour the UK with stops in Manchester, England as part of the It's Queer Up North Arts Festival and in a critically acclaimed run at London's Soho Theatre. Also in 2008, Justin appeared at The Southbank Center in London in the title role of Sinderella an original musical written by Martyn Jacques of The Tiger Lillies. In 2007, he premiered Justin Bond is Close To You, a reinterpretation of the classic Carpenter's album Close To You performed in its entirety as part of Joe's Pub in the Park in Central Park and subsequently presented by The Sydney Opera House in Australia. He regularly Emcees the performance series Weimar New York which has played in such varied locations as the SFMOMA, The Speigeltent, and Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in New York.

As one-half of the Performance duo Kiki and Herb, Justin has toured the world headlining at Carnegie Hall, The Sydney Opera House, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and starred in successful runs on Broadway and off-Broadway. Kiki and Herb have released two CDs, Do You Hear What We Hear?, Kiki and Herb Will Die For You at Carnegie Hall and a DVD Kiki and Herb Live at the Knitting Factory.

Film credits include a starring role in John Cameron Mitchell's feature Shortbus, Charles Hermann-Wurmfeld's Fancy's Persuasion as well as Imaginary Heroes and Jon Moritsugu's Mod Fuck Explosion. In 2006 Bond completed his MA Scenography at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London. Justin credits his career as a queer performer to Kate Bornstein who cast him as Herculine Barbin in her ground-breaking play Hidden: A Gender in 1991.

TICKETS

Online at joespub.com

Phone 212-967-7555,

In Person At the Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM), or at the Joe's Pub Box Office from (6 PM to 10 PM) both located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC

For table reservations please call 212-539-8778. Purchase of tickets does NOT guarantee a table reservation; you must call to reserve seats. Seating, as well as standing-room, is available only on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation. Two drink or $12 food minimum per person is standard.


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