New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Jizel
Music & Design) - Award winner jazz/cabaret vocalist LINDA KOSUTin collaboration with Jizel Music, presents New Stars of the Rrazz Room on Monday,
September 20, 21010 at 8:00pm. Several very talented and rising stars of the Bay Area's jazz/cabaret/musical theater world will debut on the Rrazz Room stage: Benn Bacot, jazz/cabaret;
Lauren Haden, 17-year old musical theater sensation; Mark Johnson, singer/songwriter; and
Diane Kluft, jazz/pop performer; there will be a special appearance by
Maria Diamond. Musical direction by Barry Llloyd. Sam Bevan on bass.
The Rrazz Room is located at the Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St., San Francisco. Showtime 8:00pm. $25 (advance purchase) + 2-drink min. TicketWeb: (866) 468-3399 or The Rrazz Room.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Benn Bacot. (https://www.bennbacot.com) San Francisco Jazz/Cabaret artist Benn Bacot hails from Mississippi and wields a rich bass baritone that recalls Joe Williams & Johnny Hartman, while maintaining a style all his own. He has performed on many of the major stages in the Bay Area including The Plush Room, Piaf's, The Purple Onion, Octavia Lounge, Anna's Jazz Island, Jazz at Pearl's and Napa Valley's Silo's Jazz Club to name a few.
His talents have taken him as far Berlin's ATrane, BBop, and BFlat jazz clubs, as well as a special guest appearance with Linda Kosut at New York's Triad, and a surprise performance at last year's Monterey Jazz Festival.
He is a tireless promoter of local singers, co-hosting along with Tess Kelly the singer's open mic Song Of The Month Club at Martuni's and hosting Sheba's Song, an evening of open mic performances at Sheba Piano Lounge. Benn continues to expand his repertoire with songs from the American Songbook and contemporary tunes and is currently working on a tribute to Nat King Cole.
Lauren Haden. 'Singing is like breathing to me: I can't live without it,' says Lauren Haden, a 17-year-old from Marin County with dozens of acclaimed vocal performances to her credit. Perhaps it's in the genes, with a grandmother who was a professional singer in the 1940's, a great-uncle who sang with Yale's exclusive men's glee club, 'The Whiffenpoofs,' and an uncle who is currently a music industry singer/songwriter in Austin, TX.
Having honed her exceptional voice on musical theater productions, cabaret shows, and community vocal performances from a very young age, she currently sings and performs with the A.C.T. Young Conservatory Cabaret Ensemble and with her high school music department's performance workshop.
Lauren's deep and rich vocal stylings transcend any specific genre, beautifully showcasing Broadway show tunes to jazz standards, comedy numbers to classical art songs. (A secret revealed: her dream is to some day land a singing role as a Disney princess!) In the meantime, Lauren is thrilled to share her unique gift with so many appreciative audiences!
Mark Johson is a California native who grew up in Mexico, Bolivia and Ghana. Returning to the U.S., he graduated from Bennington College and began his artistic career. The eclectic cultural mix that pervaded his youth informed his unique musical and fine arts background.
Three years ago Mark began to compose his own original music to add to his jazz standard repertoire and to develop further as a musician. Last February he was awarded 'Best Crooner' in the 2010 Cabaret Showcase Showdown.
For the past 15 years Mark has worked with a number of widely recognized San Francisco jazz singers, including Paula West, Mark Murphy, Kitty Margolis, Madeline Eastman, and pianists Ken Muir and Frank Jackson.
Mark has performed jazz standards from the American and Brazilian Songbooks at local clubs such as The Plush Room, The Purple Onion, The Jazz School, Cafe' du Nord, Octavia Lounge, Martuni's, and a plethora of other 'smokey dives'. In 1997 Mark Johnson hosted the 2 hour holiday spectacular Mark Johnson Christmas Special at Martuni's in San Francisco, filmed live for Q TV- the then-local public access television station.
Mark is currently working on a cd of his original songs under the laser-slinging production watch of local singer/songwriter and recording artist Bonnie Hayes.
In addition to his musical pursuits, multra-faceted Mark Johnson is an established visual artist. His murals, paintings, and decorative artworks have graced homes and businesses both locally and internationally, and have been exhibited to critical acclaim in group and solo exhibitions in San Francisco and other US cities. For your viewing pleasure, and to see examples of his work, you are invited to visit www.markjohnsonstudio.com
Diane Kluft. A native New Yorker, Diane started her career at the age of 5 where you could catch her song and dance performances for relatives and friends at every family gathering. She had the starring role of 'Princess Snowflake' in her first grade play and went on to perform in starring roles in every school production that followed. As an 8-year old student of the ballet at Carnegie Hall, Diane fell in love with the world of Dance. She spent the next 20 years traveling the New York City dance circuit studying and performing with dance companies and following her passion for ballet, modern, tap and jazz.
With a scholarship to study and perform with the San Francisco DanceTheatre, she moved to San Francisco in 1975. Diane she started a dance department at The Mobile School and The Institute for Peer Learning in San Francisco, as a teacher and choreographer.
While recuperating from a dance injury, she took voice lessons. Diane has performed at Piaf's in San Francisco, with her SGI-USA Buddhist chorus for the past 25 years, and in March of this year Diane performed at the Fairmont Hotel's Cirque Room in a collaborative evening of 'Cabaret at the Cirque,' to rave reviews.
Special guest, Maria Diamond. Originally from Argentina, Maria learned to sing as a child surrounded by her large Russian family. Sipping vodka while they sang everything from Russian folk songs to Argentine tangos, the more they drank, the louder they sang. Since that auspicious debut among inebriated relations, she has performed at venues throughout the Bay Area including the Octavia Lounge, Kelly's of Alameda, Concordia Argonaut Club and is currently a member of the 'supper Club Six' who perform monthly at Villa D'Este Restaurant in San Francisco. Maria speaks five languages and sings in all of them.
ABOUT LINDA KOSUT. (https://www.lindakosut.com and https://www.jizelmusic.com)
Award-winning vocalist Linda Kosut blends cabaret and jazz styles into sparkling and current renditions of songs of differing genres. Don Heckman, International Review of Music and jazz critic to the Los Angeles Times says of Linda ' [this] amazing Bay Area canary brings her skills as an actress to her insightful interpretations of songs underscored with a fusion of jazz, pop and folk.' Linda has performed to full houses at New York's Iridium Jazz Club to San Francisco's Yoshi's and The Rrazz Room.
Growing up in New York City and transplanted to San Francisco over 20 years ago, Linda only began pursuing her dream of performing several years ago as she approached 'boomer' status, and she has not stopped since. 'I am sure that I am not alone in my journey to satisfy a creative bug I've had my whole life; but one that up until nearing 'retirement' status, I did not pursue,' says Linda. 'The joy I have in performing translates to my audience who tell me how I have inspired them. It is my sheer pleasure to do so.'
Her recent national tour - a heartfelt tribute to the late jazz great Oscar Brown Jr., celebrated her sophomore CD, Long As You're Living, the songs & poetry of Oscar Brown Jr. and garnered packed houses, awards and national recognition.
Linda has recorded two solo CDs, the most-recent of which Long As You're Living received BackStage Magazine's 2008 BISTRO/BMI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RECORDING, as well as nominations for BEST FEMALE JAZZ VOCALIST and BEST JAZZ RECORDING from MAC, Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs, and the Cabaret Hotline 2008 MEMBERS' CHOICE AWARD.
Through her company, Jizel Music and Design, Linda provides coaching to singers in both presentation and production, and designs marketing collateral for performers and performing arts organizations. https://www.jizelmusicanddesign.com
Linda lives in San Francisco with her husband, 2 dogs, 2 turtles, 4 chickens and thousands of fresh-water fish!
Jazz Review - 'A singer of great ability - conveys romance combined with an earthy heat!'
LA Jazz Scene - "... a new female jazz singer who commands one's attention ... a vocal performance which deserves mention
Jazz Times - 'the best of such artists renowned for their superior ability to act, particularly one as gutsy as Kosut'
Nightlife/Calendar listings:
WHO/WHAT: Linda Kosut hosts a Jizel Music presentation, 'New Stars of the Rrazz Room'
WHEN: Monday, September 20,, 2010 - 8:00pm
WHERE: The Rrazz Room, Hotel Nikko Union Square, 220 Mason St., San Francisco
TICKETS: $25 advance purchase ($30 at the door) - all ages admitted
PHONE: 866-468-3399
WEB: The Rrazz Room - https://www.therrazzroom.com
