Tonight I joined our local neighborhood phonebank for the Barack Obama campaign, and for the first time in my life, I am actually volunteering for a political candidate.
I've never been political.
I'm not one of these people shoving her opinions down anyone's throat.
I don't even like to share the few strong opinions I have.
But this is different.
I grew up in the era of Nixon and Watergate, the Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton scandals, and a racially divided atmosphere. Politics were dirty, it was just accepted, and eventually you learned to close your eyes and ears to it all.
But for the first time ever, I truly feel something in the air, a feeling that change could actually happen.
Imagine a government whose leader wasn't put there by lobbyists.
Imagine a President you actually listen to, and believe.
Imagine a country you might actually be proud of, an imperfect country trying to get it right.
It really sounds too good to be true, but for the first time, there's a light burning somewhere in a lot of people...a light that could lead the way to a different kind of leadership.
And I'm all for that.
Barack Obama is a unifier, not a divider, and that's the #1 reason why I made that decision today to help out the local phone bank.
Who knew? I guess I can change too....

ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

For the first time ever, all 4 of my CD's are now available for purchase!

It Had to Be Swing - 1999

Unkissed - 2000

That's What Christmas Used to Be - 2001

Somewhere in this Room - 2007

I've had dozens of email requests from people all over the US asking where they can buy these albums, and now you can find everything on CDBaby.com!

Click on the links below to be redirected to each CD's site.

Somewhere in this Room 

It Had to Be Swing

Unkissed

That's What Christmas Used to Be

More new photos from Russia!!

Laura Marie Duncan took the following shots in St. Petersburg...
Here I am singing at the Grand Hotel Europe:

Photos from Russia

Photos from the Canyon Cub show

Here are some photos my dear friend Laura Cozzi took at the Canyon Club show in October....

My Trip to Russia!

I just returned from a 2-week trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, where I performed at the Grand Hotel Europe with my dad and two Russian jazz players. What an experience!! I'll post photos shortly (I took over 800 photos, so I need to go through them all and choose the best ones).
I went on this trip with 8 other singers, all from New York, and all established singers on Broadway, all as part of the "St. Petersburg Young Artist Alliance", headed up by the amazing George White (who has too many titles, responsibilities, and jobs to list). While the other singers put on two amazing shows of Broadway tunes to honor the late Russian composer Andrei Petrov (entitled "Andrei & Broadway" and directed by Tony Winner Ted Sperling), I had my own show of jazz standards, selections from "Somewhere in this Room", and Russian tunes (yes, I managed to sing in Russian!) at the Grand Hotel Europe.
Over the period of two weeks, we visited (and sang at) the American Consulate, the home of a Georgian Prince, and the apartment of a very famous Russian actress named Anastasia Melnikova. I also got to see the Hermitage, The Russian Museum, The Pushkin Apartments Museum, the Marinsky Theatre (for a ballet performance of "Romeo and Juliet"), and a Russian stage production of Chekov's "Uncle Vanya". I saw the Church of the Spilled Blood (built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was murdered), St. Isaac's Cathedral, The Yusopov Palace (where Rasputin was murdered...we even went to the basement to see where it happened), we walked up and down Nevsky Prospect, and now I know how all those great Russian novels were created. I have a lot of reading to do!
The talent in this city is amazing. The singers I encountered in St. Petersburg were nothing short of amazing. We stayed right by the Musical Conservatory, so all the waiters at the local restaurant were singers...they broke into Russian Folk Songs (sung operatically) every few hours. There were some Russian singers who sang in the chorus of the "Andrei & Broadway" who could really rip your heart out with their soulfullness. One of the singers had the highest, most gorgeous soprano I think I've ever heard, and I have a feeling all of us will be hearing from her soon in the USA!
More later...so much to write about, so much to share...I'll just have to post those photos. Stay tuned.....

THE BIG SHOW - Wed., October 17

Hi everyone! Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, October 17th .... I'll be performing at The Canyon Club for the big CD Launch Party. This will be quite a production, it's for the press, it's being filmed, and you're invited!

The album is now available on Amazon.com and CD Baby , iTunes coming up in a little bit, and it will also be in over a thousand retail stores all over the country. Radio promotion is also about to start . If you're interested in purchasing a copy, please visit Amazon and CD Baby , and feel free to write a review!
http://www.somewhereinthisroom.com/
http://www.canyonclub.net/