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JWP Special Events (pdf)
JWP
Artist Roster (pdf)
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 America's
Emerging Talent
Entertaining and interactive, America's
Emerging Talent®, brings you three emerging artists that your
audience can pick the winner from.
Different from the talent
contests that appear on national TV these days, these artists have
all had success on the national and international scene, yet are still
in the process of building their following. Sorry, but no
amateurs allowed!
At the beginning of the
show, ushers will pass out ballots to everyone in the audience.
Your local artistic director or a master of ceremonies from the local
community will give the audience instructions on how to evaluate the
artists, when to vote, and introductions for each artist. Each of
the three artists will perform two or three songs, after which your
audience will be instructed to vote and the ballots are collected by
the ushers. During the intermission, the ballots are sorted and
counted by theater staff. Upon return for the second half, each
artist will perform one more song each. Finally, after the
suspense has crescendoed, and everyone gets that extra moment to
question their own vote, the runner-ups and the winner is announced,
with a closing song by that night's winner.
Guaranteed to be a fun
night of exceptional talent and excitement for the audience. The
winner for the season, will have an opportunity to record with an
international record label.
Fully scripted for your MC
to improvise on. Three talented artists per show will be
highlighted, some singers, some instrumentalists, all pop and jazz
oriented, and easy to listen to. Scaled for theaters of all sizes
and budgets.
Your theater will have a
choice of several artists each season in which to present, subject to
availability. Here is the 2008/2009 crop of
emerging artists to choose from.
Judy
Wexler
 Judy
Wexler's journey to
jazz singing followed a somewhat circuitous route. Judy was
always musical, having studied piano since the age of 5. At UC
Santa Cruz, she began to follow an
intensive program of classical piano. At that time, her
exposure to jazz was minimal -- mostly through listening to Dave
Brubeck and Carmen McRae albums, and taking a few jazz piano lessons.
But after graduation and a move to San
Francisco, she fully discovered jazz Lucky for her, her future
husband was living in the
flat upstairs. A long-time jazz fan himself, he introduced her to
the music of Coltrane, Miles Davis, Eddie Jefferson, Dexter Gordon, and
Oliver Nelson. A move to Los Angeles and marriage
followed, where Judy pursued an acting career and appeared in many
plays and a few TV shows, most notably a guest starring role on the
long-running Frasier.
After many years, she quit acting and turned her focus to jazz piano,
and finally full time to singing, her primary love! Through this
journey, Judy Wexler has emerged as one of the top vocalists in the LA
area, and is now poised for the international scene.
"Easy on the Heart" marks Judy’s debut CD release. It is a
modern,
eclectic mix of standards, pop tunes, and lesser-known tunes deserving
greater recognition. Arranged by
piano great, Alan Pasqua, it was released in 2005 to critical
acclaim and is getting extensive radio airplay. Easy on the Heart
remained on the JazzWeek Charts for over 6 weeks.
Listen to "Moment
to Moment" from Judy's
debut album "Easy on the Heart".
Jenna
Mammina
 As
you listen to Jenna Mammina tell her story, you come to feel that she
was destined for a life in music. "When I was a baby," she says, "my
mother would sing Nat King Cole songs. Those were my lullabies. And I
would wake up almost every night at midnight and coo...my first vocal
performances!"
Years later, thousands of miles, and many vocal performances later,
that musically inclined baby has grown into a vocalist of great power,
imagination, and artistry. Jenna's first album, Under the Influence,
was one of the most widely praised debuts in recent memory, earning a
four-star review in Japan's most prestigious jazz magazine, Swing
Journal, and appearing on numerous critics' lists. And now comes
the eagerly-awaited "Meant to Be", a new collection of songs that
proves to be a worthy successor to her auspicious premiere. "Meant to
Be", reflects the breadth and depth of Jenna's musical tastes and her
command of a vast range of styles. The album features an array of songs
from the repertoires of Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, Steely Dan and
U2, as well as two originals. Jen Earls of the Chicago Free
Press says "Jenna is in a class by herself".
Listen to "When
I Take My Sugar to Tea" from Jenna's album "Meant to Be".
Dominick
Farinacci
 By
now the story of trumpet phenom Dominick Farinacci is well known. The
young man continues to impress. Dominick graduated from New York's
famed Julliard School of Music in 2005, and has already made his impact
as a professional musician. Dominick won First Place in The
Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Competition in 2003. Dominick was
also awarded a gold disc award from Japan's Swing Journal and has also
been designated their musician of the year. Highlights from this past
year include the release of his sixth CD on Japan's M & I label, an
appearance at The Harrisburg Jazz Festival and The Detroit
International Jazz Festival, a tour of Japan last fall to support his
new CD "Smile", and a number of nightclub appearances throughout the
US.
Dominick Farinacci has recently signed with The Jazz Tree, a very high
profile management company in New York City. Past Jazz Tree
clients have included Tony Williams, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, and
Benny Green.
Listen to Dominick's original "Relaxin'
at Peter's" from his album "Smile".
Luca
Mundaca
 Singer,
songwriter, and guitarist Luca Mundaca is one of the great emerging
Brazilian artists who have begun to gain international acclaim. Luca is
from a small town just south of Sao Paolo. From her early teens on, she
has been fine tuning her musical gifts. Early on she quickly mastered
the standard Bossa Nova repertoire and she became adept at interpreting
the work of the masters.
With the recent release of her debut CD "Day by Day" it is clear that
Luca Mundaca is a musical artist on the rise. A formidable composer and
arranger, the new CD features all original compositions. Shortly
after releasing the CD, an unsolicited copy was sent to Putumayo
records in New York City. So impressed were the
Putumayo people they immediately added her to their brand new
"Brazilian Lounge" CD. She is featured alongside several major
Brazilian artists on that CD including Bebel Gilberto, Paula
Morlenbaum, and Marcos Valle. The Putumayo CD features her original
composition "Ha Dias".
Listen to Luca's original "Ha Dias"
from her debut CD "Day by Day"
Typhanie
Monique and Neal Algier
 If
Typhanie Monique and Neal Alger are not household names yet, rest assured that they will be soon.
They have formed a musical partnership
that is organic and ultimately based on groove. In the five years that the duo has performed
together, they have developed a
repertoire that reflects their love for jazz standards, rock and pop music they grew up with, and most
importantly, R&B/Soul music, the flavor of which underlies every song the
duo performs. Familiar tunes
are recast with fresh arrangements while obscure gems are dusted off and brought to life again. A typical
set by the duo might include
"Riders On The Storm" by the Doors, the jazz classic "Song For My Father", and an original composition
with a hip-hop flavor titled "I Don't
Care".
This kind of stylistic
breadth has given the duo visibility beyond the conventional jazz audience and
an appeal that crosses over to
listeners of other genres of music. The vibrant and creative music made by the duo of Typhanie Monique
and Neal Alger is truly intrinsic
- experience it on their debut release appropriately titled, "Intrinsic".
Listen to "Song
For My Father" from Typhanie and Neal's debut album "Intrinsic".
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