New Oyster House memories

I celebrated my birthday on Sunday with a few of my friends at the Oyster House in Studio City.  My friend Dave Welch took some amazing photos that night. In addition to being an incredibly talented trumpet and flugelhorn player, he also happens to be a professional photographer. I highly recommend him!! A great time was had by all, as you can see by the photos....

Laura Pursell (that's me!)

Everyone enjoyed the classy, velvety vocals of George Brittenham

Lawrence Juber surprised us all by dropping in! Here is, sitting in with Doug MacDonald

One of my favorite bass players and a dear friend - Adam Cohen

Carl Tassi sitting in on drums...how cool is this cat??

Here I am singing "The Song is You"

The band

Tony Russell singing "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans" - Tony is always a crowd favorite!

Singing with Dori Amarillio - a fantastic player. I was so glad he dropped by. I will be doing more with Dori!

Doug MacDonald - it just doesn't get any better!

Another great shot of George Brittenham

Fabulous drummer and dear friend Frank Wilson, who subbed out his regular gig to share this night with me. Love you, Frank!

The incomparable Dori

Doing my thing with the band

Lawrence Juber - I wish he could have stayed longer, but he had a session early the next morning. Can you believe all this talent??

Jazz great Ron Anthony...an old friend who taught me half the songs I sing

Photos by Dave Welch
www.photoswithclass.com

The Oyster House - Dec. 6

My birthday is this Sunday, Dec. 6, and I have decided to celebrate it by singing at the Oyster House with all my friends! I'm hoping this will be a really fun jam session. Here are the details:

LAURA PURSELL
at
The Oyster House
Sunday, Dec. 6
(come help me celebrate my birthday!)

Music starts at 9:30 pm....kitchen closes at 10 pm!

The Band:
Laura Pursell – vocals!!
with
Doug MacDonald – guitar!!
Adam Cohen – bass!!
Frank Wilson – drums!!

The Oyster House Saloon
12446 Moorpark St (corner of Moorpark and Whitsett)
Studio City, CA 91604
818-761-8686

Don’t miss this special night of music!!

Proof that less is more...

">Nina Simone

The late, great Dinah Washington

I found this great clip (with fantastic live crowd footage) of Dinah Washington singing "All of Me". This is one of the first tunes I learned from the Great American Songbook and I rarely do it now because ... well, it's just so overdone. However, listening to Dinah swing it, it all sounds new again...
">Dinah Washington sings "All of Me"

Great night at the Oyster House

I had a really fun (and interesting!) gig at the Oyster House Saloon in Studio City on Monday night. My partners in crime were Adam Cohen on bass, Jamie Findlay on guitar, and Tim McIntyre on drums. Great band...! It was my first night at this place, so I was a little worried about getting people to come out on Monday night at 10 pm. I didn't need to worry...all my dog-walking pals at Beeman Park showed up, family members came out, and a few old friends I haven't seen in a long while. Musicians Ron King, Dori Amarilio, and Oskar Cartaya also dropped by.

The Oyster House is a very casual local hang, great oysters (thus the name, right?) and a wide selection of cold beer on tap as well as any drink you can imagine. The bartender (Chris) is a very colorful and warm character, and you just never know who is going to walk in the door.

A week before, Al Jarreau was eating dinner at the front, and on Monday, Snoop Dogg's buddy Donald Smith (aka "Lil Half Dead") ran up to me, gave me a huge hug, and asked me if I would like to sing on some hip hop tracks!! Dori said he would pay to see me do this. Maybe I'll take him up on it....!

New recording on Doug MacDonald's "Fourth Stream"

My incredibly talented friend, guitarist Doug MacDonald, gave me the honor of singing a track on his latest release, "Fourth Stream". This was recorded early this summer and I just got a copy of the CD. The CD is an incredible complilation of original material with jazz and blues standards. A jazz rhythm section (formed by Doug, Jack LeCompte, Harvey Neumark, and Jimmy Dykes) is surrounded by a horn section and a 15-member string section.

I was asked to sing on the jazz standard "Invitation" (one of my favorite tunes since I heard Rosemarie Clooney's version on a Nelson Riddle arrangement). Doug arranged the tune as a bossa, and he left out the strings for this cut. Enjoy...

Click here to listen to "Invitation"

Performing in CA Wine Country

Dad and I took to the road with Mom and David and headed up north to CA wine country, where we sang at the Alchemy Wine Bar, in the charming town of Murphys. We met some wonderful locals, the owners of Tanner Winery across the street, and a few fellow travelers. We were treated to fabulous wine and food, and it was the perfect warm-up for our show at Vitello's in LA on July 28. The restaurant and bar were completely full 1/2 hour into our set, and the owner said we are welcome back any time we like. Enjoy the photos!

Laura and Dad (Bill Pursell) at Vitello's - July 28

Ok, guys and gals, it's definitely happening, so save the date! Those of you who have seen my dad on piano know what I'm talking about...we do this show once every one or 2 years, and I can proudly say that my Dad still has the killer chops of someone 40 years younger. We've surrounded ourselves with a band of some of the best players around, at a great venue....I'm really excited and hope you can make it...!

Tuesday, July 28
7 pm - 10 pm
Upstairs at Vitello's
4349 Tujunga
Studio City, CA 91604

Piano: Bill Pursell
Bass: Lou Shock
Drums: Frank Wilson
Guitar: Doug MacDonald
and yours truly (Laura Pursell) on vocals

And musician friends are invited to sit in, sing and play....this is going to be a great night of music!
$10 cover, parking available, stay for dinner or just hang out and have drinks

Important: Please call for reservations: 818-769-0905

See you there!

Alan's Birthday!

L-R: (in back) Dr. Cathy Lassiter, Laura (Pursell) Byrnes, David Byrnes, (in front) Alan Priven

The gang headed out to Barone's again on Friday night to surprise Alan Priven on his birthday. Jelsa Palao was singing - what a voice! Alan and Cheryl were their with their family, and a huge chocolate mousse cake was brought out by Tom Monteleone. Jelsa sang Happy Birthday, with Paul Gormley on bass, Dave Mosko on piano and a drummer (whose name escapes me). It was a great band.

We crashed Tony and Rosemarie Russell's table, and then we were joined by Mel Kohl. The 5 of us got into a VERY spirited conversation on politics, Obama and the situation in Iran, and I hope the volume at our table didn't irritate Jelsa. I truly didn't want to get into politics on a night of such great music, but I guess that's not realistic with so much going on.

At any rate, a great time was had by all. Despite our differences, we can still appreciate a great night of music and friendship!


L-R: David Byrnes, Laura (Pursell) Byrnes, Tony Russell, Rosemarie Russell, Mel Kohl

Summer is here...

What better way to usher in the summer season, than a trip to the Sierras. A group of 4 of us (my husband David, my sister Margaret and her husband Jess) drove up to Kernville and camped out on the Kern River for three nights. The weather was hot during the day and cool at night, and each night we made a campfire and gazed at the thousands of stars in the sky (in LA you never get to see the stars!) David and I kayaked (in our inflatable kayaks) but I opted out before attempting the "Ewings Rapid" (class 3, but certain to flip my boat). On Sunday, we took a trip up to the Sequoia Grove and marveled at the trees....over 1000 years old. It was like an outdoor cathedral. Very humbling to stare at those trees and realize that some were standing there before the Roman Empire. And they'll be standing there long after we're gone. Now, back to reality...I'm preparing for the three weddings I'll be singing in this summer, and a huge show with my dad at Vitello's on July 28. Stay posted!

Stoney Point

"Food so good, they built a bridge to us..."

I went to a really great off-the-beaten-path restaurant on Friday, a place called Stoney Point, in Old Town Pasadena. There was a lovely lady named Wendy Ryan playing piano, and she invited me up to sing. (I have a couple of weddings coming up, anyway...I figured I could use the practice!) There was no sound system, but the room was very small and the acoustics weren't bad. I started off with "Skylark", then as I started Cole Porter's "Just in Time", a wonderful trumpet player named Dave Welch walked up and started playing with us. He was wonderful! Wendy and Dave must play together quite a bit - they blended beautifully. And I think Wendy knows every tune in the American Songbook. I have some pretty far-out keys, and she managed to play in every one of them.
Anyway, 2 songs quickly turned into 2 sets. I never got to finish my dinner. But it was a really fun night.
There seem to be a group of regulars who go here often, and I highly recommend it. The food (what I was able to finish) was really great, and I definitely plan on returning.

Bob Florence performing "Invitation" and "On Green Dolphin Street"

I just found this online, and I had to post it. What a genius this guy was. Bob Florence did some arrangements for my Christmas album, including an unforgettable version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". And he was one of the nicest people I ever met. Enjoy...

What a night!

On Friday, Tony Russell and his wife Rosemarie invited us out, to hear Ben Schillaci sing with Bob Leatherbarrow (drums) and David Moscoe (keyboard) at Barone's. First, of all, Ben Schillaci, where have you been hiding? Ben's sense of timing, his phrasing, his tone, his choice of tunes - an absolute joy to hear. I'll come out to hear him any time, anywhere.

In the 2nd set, Ben invited Tony and I both to sit in, and what a night it was! As Tony said, "When we show up, we make a riot!" Well, that's what we did. Tony told a few (wonderfully inappropriate) jokes, I sang a song, he sang a song, we did a couple of duets, and then the three of us traded choruses (scatting) on a 12-bar blues.

If more people had been at Barone's that night, the authorities would have had to shut the place down. As it was, we made plenty of noise with our friends - Cheryl and Alan Priven, the Brownsteins (who danced all night long), Mel the comedian, vocalist Chadwick, and more. Dr. Kathy Lassiter was also there, snapping away with her camera. If I can track her down, I'll try to get copies of the photos and post some.

Help for the Aspiring Songwriter

My good friend and long-time musical collaborator Chris Cutler has just published a new website for his songwriting demo business, www.yoursongdemo.com. Check it out.

He offers a unique service to songwriters who need help recording their ideas. The good news is, his clients don't have to be professional musicians or even skilled instrumentalists. All they have to bring in is an idea - a line, a lyric, or a melody. Chris then works with the client to flesh out these ideas musically. He creates backing tracks, or - if needed - a vocal as well. This is ideal for beginning songwriters, students in a songwriting class, or anyone who has a great song knocking around inside his head, but just doesn't know how to make it "real". At the end of the day, the product belongs to the client. Chris takes no percentage of publishing or any other claim to the material. And his rates are extremely reasonable.

Right now (on a more personal note) given the current state of the world, I really think it's important to try to make sense of the world we live in. Self-expression through songwriting is one of the ways we can do this. I think there are a lot of songwriters out there who just haven't had the time or the tools to produce their songs.

If you are one of these people (or know someone who is), send them to www.yoursongdemo.com.

"Somewhere in this Room" chosen among Top 25 Indie Releases of 2008 by Indie-Music.com

This is very exciting. I just found out that Indie-Music.com just selected my 2008 release, "Somewhere in this Room" , to be included in their list of Top 25 Indie Releases of 2008. What an honor, and thank you, Indie-Music.com! As a result of this selection, we've been getting additional airplay in the state of New York on WCVF, on a program called General Eclectic. I'm in some pretty good company, too...check out the link below:

TOP 25 INDIE CD'S OF 2008

New Year's in Nashville

I just returned from a wonderful 2-week visit in Nashville. It was so wonderful, getting to spend the holidays, and then some, with my family. My parents throw an enormous annual holiday party (a tradition dating back to 1966 or 1967 - I was an infant when the first one was thrown at the old house on Rolling Fork Drive). Dad would play piano, various musicians would sit in, and you never knew when a singer (country, operatic, or jazz) would show up. It eventually morphed into an annual New Year's Eve party, and when I started singing all those years ago, I was recruited to join in. Pretty soon it became the "Laura and Bill Show", and this year was no exception. It's such an honor to play with my dad - he has such a charismatic style, full of ideas, and always entertaining. Here are a few shots from New Year's Eve (which also happens to be our 4th Wedding Anniversary)!