Joyce Breach & Richard Rodney Bennett

Singer Joyce Breach and pianist/composer Richard Rodney Bennett present an evening of great songs performed in exemplary style. Part of the program will include songs from Joyce's new Audiophile Records cd "Odds and Ends,"scheduled for release this Spring. The evening promises to be a special reunion of two superlative talents Critics have described Joyce Breach's vocalizing as everything from peachy to warm honey and scotch neat, hold the ice. She's allured crowds to supperclubs for first-hand experiences from New York to San Francisco and London.Breach grew up listening to and admiring Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Sarah Vaughan, Abbey Lincoln, Billie Holliday, Nat King Cole, Mabel Mercer and Frank Sinatra, noting their phrasing and inflections, but not to the point of cloning. She has her own indelible style. Born in Alameda, CA, she was raised in Kansas City, KS. She settled in Pittsburgh after attending West Virginia University. The singer made a name for herself in the 80s and enjoyed a loyal following in the Steel Town before relocating to New York City, where she made even bigger strides wowing audiences and reviewers at some of Manhattan's top clubs, including The Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room, the Russian Tea Room, the Firebird and Danny's Skylight Room. She has appeared on stage at Town Hall, Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall and Lincoln Center's Rose Hall. In London, she has performed several seasons at the renowned Pizza on the Park. Her no nonsense, unfrilled vocals have been recorded extensively by Audiophile Records, which issued her first CD Confessions in 1990. This Spring, she has a new CD Odds and Ends (with JonWeber) scheduled for release. Breach's other discs include Lovers After All (with Sir Richard Rodney Bennett), Songbird, Nothing But Blue Skies, This Moment and Love is the Thing (with William Roy), Reel Songs and three volumes of Remembering Mabel Mercer (with Keith Ingham). She is also featured on Loonis McGlohon & Friends' A Christmas Memory. Critics from Max Preeo to Rex Reed and Stephen Holden have lauded the singer's attributes.