Share in my joy! New bandmate
Johnny Asia
I have a very cool new bandmate, Phoebe Legere.
We have our first gig together in Kingston, NY on Thursday, Jan. 26,
with MIDI-Horn, keyboard & alto saxophonist Gus Mancini
New Vanguard Series
The Gallery at Deep Listening Space
A program of the Pauline Oliveros Foundation
Located at 75 Broadway, Kingston, NY
phone (845) 338-5984
http://www.deeplistening.org/dls/
"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. " - New York Times
In the early 90’s composer/artist Phoebe Legere erupted out of the
East Village with a brand of Live Art that stunned the world. Legere’s
circus of the intellect and rock n roll surrealism spawned hundreds of
imitators; but her visionary vocal genius has never been equaled.
Since the dawn of the new millennium Legere has been performing her
transcendent Performance Art Music with Symphony Orchestras around the
country. Legere’s texts often deal with scientific, spiritual and
Native American issues. In 2000 Phoebe Legere was nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize in Music. Legere’s recent academic residencies include
the School of Visual Arts, University of Victoria, University of
Illinois, and the University of Texas at Austin. She has invented a
new instrument: The Sneakers of Samothrace, a haptic interface
(wearable computer) for real time music improvisation. At BAM Legere
will be performing excerpts from “Dark Energy” an astrophysics
oratorio for piano, accordion, Native American flute, Buffalo Drum and
Sneakers 3.0
"We draw the audience into the world of the event….
Performance Art is a vehicle for expanding our awareness of life."-
Dr.Phoebe Legere, from her Dissertation, The Essence of Performance
BIO
Phoebe Hemenway Legere is a New York City-based composer,
interdisciplinary performer, and visual artist. An influential member
of New York City's downtown performance scene in the 1980's and 90's,
during the past decade, Legere has increasingly focused her energy on
music composition, ranging from musical theater to experimental
forms. In 2000, she was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music for
her collaboration with Morgan Powell on the "The Waterclown."
A dynamic performer on piano, accordion guitar, and synthesizer, with
a four and half octave vocal range and free-for-all approach to mixing
jazz, cabaret, and rock, Legere initially earned renown as a
songwriter with hundreds of songs in all genres, and was signed to
Epic/Sony Records. Demonstrating Legere's mastery of diverse
contemporary musical forms, in 1993 she had eight weeks of sold out
shows at The Ballroom in New York, where she performed original songs
and blues, French Chansons and Native American chants; and then,
opened up for David Bowie on a national tour. She has performed at the
Cinegrill in L.A., Michael's Pub, Davenport's in Chicago, the Chicago
Cultural Center, Carnegie Hall, the China Club, Aspen Opera House,
Freddy's Supper Club, the Supper Club in New York City, The
Hong Kong Jazz Club, Philadelphia Art Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of
Music, the Brooklyn Opera House, Symphony Space and at the Nairobi
Casino in Africa.
During the past decade, Legere has dedicated her creative energy to
adventurous, genre bending music composition. In 2001 she received a
NYSCA grant to write "The Queen of New England", an experimental
multimedia opera about the Massachusetts Native American Holocaust.
Her musical, "Hello Mrs. President", about the first African American
woman president of the United States, was presented at Theater of the
New City in 2004.
Since 2000, Legere has been a member of the Tone Road Ramblers, a
collective composing and music ensemble. This has led to
collaborations with Morgan Powell, including "Common Root of All
Organisms" (2002), an ecological opera that tells the story of life
starting with the very first one-celled organisms, and "The
Waterclown", about the formative movements of fluids,
which was performed with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and nominated
for a Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2000. She has also collaborated with
Eric Mandat on "Dark Energy" (2004), an astrophysics oratorio.
Recently, Legere has been Artist in Residence at the School of Visual
Arts Computer Art MFA department (2003), and at the University of
Victoria Graduate School of Engineering and Music (2004). She
presented her Sneakers of Samothrace, a wearable computer for music
and art improvisation, in a lecture/performance at IRCAM's Resonances
Aux Festival in Paris in 2004.
Legere has released seven CD's of original music, and has appeared on
National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS1s City Arts, and
Charlie Rose. Legere is head writer and host for Roulette TV, a NYC
show about experimental art and music. She records for Einstein
Records, a label known for experimental and adventurous music. Legere
has also been a Native American special educator in the New York City
public schools for ten years.
"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. " - New York Times
"Phoebe Legere's latest recording is an incisive critique of the role
of contemporary culture in America in the form of a post modern,
urban opera. A dazzling, dizzying sound collage of sampled
soundtracks, spoken word, composed melodies, sound effects, raps,
electrobeats, and vocal and keyboard improvisations, it's a shimmering
soundscape of a night spent downtown with Legere as tour guide...A
tribute as much to the composer/vocalist/keyboardist's virtuosic
talent as to her keen wit and intelligence, "Blue Curtain" surprises,
shocks and entertains at every jagged turn. Simply put, it's as
important a piece of music as you're likely to hear all year, or any
year- Seth Rogovoy, The Berkshire Eagle
"Her beautiful voice, with its dazzling range and rich tones.... can
take your breath away... she runs the gamut of music like a Marx
brother crossing to stage left...", She's solidly based in her art and
is a superb musician. " New York Post
"Phoebe Legere, a name to conjure with.... She is an American
original, she's fun, she's funny, she's smart, She's a beauty, almost
like a Carole Lombard, but the main thing about her is SHE"S GOOD" -
Studs Terkel, National Public Radio
"Like Marylou Williams, she can maintain a rollicking left hand that
segues easily from stride to boogie - woogie while tickling the
piano's upper register into sublime submission. Similarities to Jerry
Lee Lewis are probably not impertinent either..." New York TImes
"Check out Phoebe Legere ...resembling Daryl Hannah, and with a body
of death - she doesn't so much sing a song as inhabit it.... with a
pure, remarkable four and a half-octave range..." New York Daily News
"Phoebe Legere's brand of articulate genius will have it's day - the
time is ripe for a legitimate, American original who has it all -
beauty, brains, talent, sex appeal, and a giving heart... A brilliant
songwriter.." - Where Magazine
"An evocative blend of sexpot glamour, French insouciance, Bourbon St.
bawdiness, and East Village hipness - she's got both body and soul. "
Harper's Bazaar
"Gorgeous, blonde bombshell with a dynamite body, a magnificent voice,
a wild sense of humor...(She is) an extremely intelligent Vassar
graduate who can play four or five instruments and challenge every
premise you might have about her as she zips through her set - her
song selections are impeccably chosen. (She has) a dazzling voice - a
superb singer miles above most of the rock stars of today ...a comic
mind...She turns excess and extravagance into an art form and anchors
it with stunning simplicity. " New York Post
"Phoebe Legere is one of the most, inspired and talented
creative-supernovas on the planet...One of those rare luminous
souls... beautiful, wickedly funny, anointed with wisdom, and her
music possesses Native American mystical and healing qualities. like
Billie Holiday or Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis or Sun Ra..." Dimitri
Monroe, Hits Magazine
"Musically Phoebe is as tremendous at the grand piano as she is on
guitar and accordion...Her voice is rich and warm, she draws her
audience in...We feel as if we get to know her quickly, ending the
evening as firm fans if not friends..." Sydney Morning Herald
"Perfection's name is Phoebe. She is beautiful, talented and sexy. A
great singer whose voice knows few limits...her band is excellent..."
Dan Aquilante, New York Post
" Legere is clearly ready for mainstream success. Legere's fine,
four-octave voice easily goes from horn like contralto to crystal
soprano. There's a winsome sweetness...and an aching, longing...rare
originality and vitality..." Variety
" Phoebe Legere has the entire package. She's funny, smart and sexy.
Her music is a flamboyant, original assortment of American pop, Cajun,
jazz and rock.." Daily Trail, Vail, Colorado
"Legere restores, resists, deflects and reflects the caricature of
women. With a gorgeous body, and enormous wit, she easily absorbs you
into her unique brand of transcendence.... she is royalty in the clubs
of Downtown NYC. " Lynne Lynn, Downtown Magazine
"She is arresting... we like Phoebe" - The New Yorker
Sitting down at the grand piano Legere launched into a hard driving
incredible boogie woogie...Phoebe Legere is a talent to be reckoned
with...a sharp wit permeates her lyrics...Vocally Legere possess a
powerful, precise 4 octave voice that is equally at home in the
operatic style as it is singing lowdown blues...In two hours Phoebe
Legere not only won a raft of new fans in Saratoga, she also
demonstrated that talent, intelligence and sex appeal need not be
mutually exclusive. Beyond the obvious attributes, it's Legere's
warmth and exuberance that will prompt us to watch for her return."
Linda Ellingsworth, Saratoga Chronicle
"Decked out in pink-tipped python-skin shoes and a revealing, low-cut
olive dress Legere struts and gyrates about the stage like Mick
Jagger, belting out sultry French chansons and avant pop ditties with
authority and conviction. Legere is an expressive and versatile singer
whose voice ranges from a dark and earthy alto to a gorgeous dazzling
high soprano.... she combines intelligent lyrics and a fusion of
French musette, Cajun, pop, rock and jazz into a stew she calls,
"roots alternative."-John Pitcher, Washington Post
"The Female Beethoven...a musical genius" Joey Arias, Paper Magazine
"Genius" Glenn O'Brian, Interview Magazine
"The sexiest accordionist on the planet..." TImeOut
"A serious gifted musician" The Music Paper
"At the heart of Phoebe's performance is a joyous celebration of
woman...(She shows) effortless versatility...refreshing...a
crystalline empathy. " South China Morning Post
"Fascinating...almost Sandy Dennyish,...spellbinding" Steve Morse,
Boston Globe
+
Johnny Asia, Hippie Guitarist
http://johnnyasia.info
"I say play your own way. Don't play what the public wants. You play what
you want and let the public pick up on what you're doing even if it does take
them fifteen, twenty years." - Thelonious Monk
Johnny Asia
returning my calls and e-mails!
We're going to be the Bonnie and Clyde of American Culture.
"Check out Phoebe Legere ...resembling Daryl Hannah, and with a body
of death - she doesn't so much sing a song as inhabit it.... with a
pure, remarkable four and a half-octave range..." New York Daily News
"Phoebe Legere is one of the most, inspired and talented
creative-supernovas on the planet...One of those rare luminous
souls... beautiful, wickedly funny, anointed with wisdom, and her
music possesses Native American mystical and healing qualities. like
Billie Holiday or Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis or Sun Ra..." Dimitri
Monroe, Hits Magazine
"Phoebe Legere's brand of articulate genius will have it's day - the
time is ripe for a legitimate, American original who has it all -
beauty, brains, talent, sex appeal, and a giving heart... A brilliant
songwriter.." - Where Magazine
"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. " - New York Times
"An evocative blend of sexpot glamour, French insouciance, Bourbon St.
bawdiness, and East Village hipness - she's got both body and soul. "
- Harper's Bazaar
"Gorgeous, blonde bombshell with a dynamite body, a magnificent voice,
a wild sense of humor...(She is) an extremely intelligent Vassar
graduate who can play four or five instruments and challenge every
premise you might have about her as she zips through her set - her
song selections are impeccably chosen. (She has) a dazzling voice - a
superb singer miles above most of the rock stars of today ...a comic
mind...She turns excess and extravagance into an art form and anchors
it with stunning simplicity. " - New York Post
juru...@aol.com
any plans to put up a sound clip or vid or anything?
Clif
Johnny Asia
wrote:
>looks interesting. When are you going to have something we can hear?
>any plans to put up a sound clip or vid or anything?
>
>Clif
Yes, we're going to make videos and podcast them.