Rondi Charleston & Friends Holiday Concert Held At The The Westport Country Playhouse 12/19

Singer-songwriter RONDI CHARLESTON is thrilled to announce her upcoming show "Rondi Charleston & Friends Holiday Concert," set to play The Westport Country Playhouse (25 Powers Court, Westport, CT) Saturday, December 19 at 8:00PM. The show will feature classics such as Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride, Let It Snow, as well as pop and jazz standards. Accompanying Ms. Charleston will be her 5-piece band, in addition to back-up singers, and special guests. All tickets are $30, and available now by calling The Westport Country Playhouse Box Office, (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport, CT. or visit, www.westportplayhouse.org

Ms. Charleston's latest recording, "In My Life," a CD/DVD set, has received critical praise and is currently on-sale. Says JazzTimes Magazine, "Hers is an immense gift...the jazz equivalent of a gin & tonic: cool, clear and effervescent, with a deliciously subtle kick." The recording includes 14 CD tracks and 15 DVD tracks and is available nationwide. This past spring, Ms. Charleston toured the US with dates at leading jazz venues, including: Sculler's in Boston, Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles, Dazzle in Denver, The Dakota in Minneapolis and Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola®, in New York City.

"In My Life," (which includes a CD/DVD bonus set) includes Rondi's first two original compositions, "Ancient Steps" and "Telescope," each inspired by her 11 year-old daughter Emma who also sings back-up vocals on "Telescope." The set was produced by Suzi Reynolds (Teri Thornton, Lynne Arriale, and Rufus Reid) for the Emmamuse label. The signature sounds of some of the world's most accomplished musicians can be heard on these recordings: pianist Bruce Barth, who also served as Tony Bennett's musical director and pianist; Sean Smith on bass (Jerry Mulligan, Phil Woods); Clarence Penn on drums (Wynton Marsalis, Roberta Flack, Dianne Reeves, Alicia Keys); Joel Frahm on tenor sax (Brad Mehldau, Jane Monheit); Adam Rogers on guitar (Michael Brecker, Cassandra Wilson).

A melodic tapestry with original, pop, prog-rock, Brazilian and Great American Songbook influences the CD/DVD highlights include the classic Beatles tune, "In My Life," as well as Carol King's pop classic anthem "Beautiful." "Until," originally written and recorded by Sting for the movie Kate & Leopold, is reinvented by Charleston as a gypsy waltz. Also included is a sultry ballad version of Rogers & Hammerstein's "Shall we Dance," an enchanting up-tempo arrangement of "I'm Old Fashioned," a rarely heard Blues gem by Jimmy Rowles, "Baby, Don't Quit Now," the Bill Evans' standard "Waltz for Debby," and a surprising original pop ballad by Peter Gabriel Bassist Tony Levin - "Fragile As A Song." The set is rounded out by sizzling versions of Brazilian classics "Someone to Light Up Life," "No More Blues" and "Estate."

The bonus DVD, "Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents Rondi Charleston - LIVE at Dizzy's Club Coca- Cola®," marks the first time any artist has been documented at that venue for DVD distribution. Live performances of "In My Life," "Beautiful," Rondi's original "Telescope" and more are included on the DVD, with a bonus track of Jobim's "No More Blues." An EP sampler of the project was successfully launched in Fall, 2007 at Virgin Megastore's two New York City flagship stores, where it sold over 1,200 units in that city alone. The project was recorded and produced at Bennett Studios, a multi Grammy and Emmy Award-winning facility. Ms. Charleston will be heading back into the studio soon, and plans a summer release for her next recording, in addition to more tour dates. More information is available by visiting: www.rondicharleston.com

About Rondi Charleston

Born into a family of musicians in Hyde Park, Chicago, Rondi began her musical journey in her early teens singing and playing guitar in that city's folk clubs. At 16 she entered Juilliard to study drama and voice. After graduating and singing opera professionally, she enrolled in the Master's program at NYU's School of Journalism and while there, broke a major cover-up story of a Metro-North train crash. She immediately caught the eye of ABC News who hired her to work alongside Diane Sawyer. As a cultural and investigative reporter for ABC's "Primetime Live," Rondi earned Emmy and Peabody Awards for stories she co-produced.
After attending a performance at a Greenwich Village club, Ms. Sawyer heartily encouraged her and Rondi decided to embrace her lifelong passion to sing jazz. Rondi left journalism to take time to raise her daughter Emma and dive into music full-time. She continues to perform at prestigious national venues such as The Blue Note, Birdland, The Iridium, The Dakota, Catalina Jazz Club and others. A current resident of Westport, CT, Rondi enjoys spending time with her family, writing and recording music, and performing with her band live for audiences in the area and all over the country. For more information, performance updates, and sneak peaks of her originals, visit www.rondicharleston.com, www.myspace.com/rondicharleston and www.youtube.com/rondicharleston.

For more information or ticket purchases, call the Westport Country Playhouse Box Office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport, CT. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org.

Holiday events' board of trustees partner is Darlene Krenz; production partners are Bank of America and Sun Products Corporation.

About the Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a treasured home for the performing arts and is a cultural landmark for Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, the Playhouse creates quality productions of new and classic plays that enlighten, enrich and engage a diverse community of theater lovers, artists and students. The Playhouse's rich history dates back to 1931, when New York theatre producer Lawrence Langner created a Broadway-quality stage within a 1830s tannery. The Playhouse quickly became an established stop on the New England "straw hat circuit" of summer stock theatres. Now celebrating its 79th season, Westport Country Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway, most recently the world premiere of "Thurgood" and a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" with Paul Newman, and in earlier years "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth, "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish, and "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner. For its artistic excellence, the Playhouse received a 2005 Governor's Arts Award and a 2000 "Connecticut Treasure" recognition. It was also designated as an Official Project of Save America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, the Playhouse transformed into a year-round, state-of-the-art producing theater, which has preserved its original charm and character. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, the Playhouse serves as a community resource, presenting educational programming and workshops; a children's theater series; symposiums; music; films; and readings.

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