St. Petersburg in August

Last week I returned from an incredible 12-day trip to St. Petersburg. I sang at the Grand Hotel Europe, toured the city, and even spent an evening at a beautiful dacha near the Finnish border (a stunning retreat that our friends Tanya and Niki Yermolayev have renovated). I took hundreds of photographs, so I've compiled several slideshows, broken down into categories. Just click on the link below to view each of them.
One fascinating aspect of this latest trip was my introduction to international politics - the day after we arrived, Georgian forces attacked South Ossetian separatists. So I was there, watching footage on "Russia Today" in my hotel room, and talking to locals and friends who were directly affected by these events. David and I even stumbled on a news conference/rally taking place in a park called "The Field of Mars". Three weeks ago, I had not even heard of South Ossetia, but I was in for quite an education.

Catherine's Palace (Tsarskoe Selo)
The Palace at Pavlovsk
Peterhof
The Peter and Paul Fortress
The Dacha in the Country
Daily Life in Russia
In and Around the City
Performing at the Grand Hotel Europe
Jazz Boat on the Neva River
What You Didn't See on U.S. Television

More photos from "Russian White Nights" performance

Laura and Mom (Julia Pursell)

Dad (Bill Pursell)

The Stage
The Show
Our Table
Irina Russell, Jim Ferguson, Laura, and David
Crowded house!

From last week's show at Cheekwood

Here's a photo of me with a friend from childhood, Elizabeth Stein. This was taken right after she and I SWITCHED SHOES before I took to the stage...My red heels were fabulous, but they were too high, and they were killing my feet! I don't think I would have made it through the night! So...what are friends for, right? Elizabeth gamely gave me her much more sensible low heels and then strutted around all night in my sassy red high heels...!
More photos to come from this really special night...

New Reviews on "Somewhere in this Room"

This really brought a smile to my face this week. Three new reviews have been posted on the internet for my 4th CD, "Somewhere in this Room". People seem to be really moved by the material, and it's so gratifying. For me, listening to the instrumentals Dad orchestrated (and played on) make this record very special to me. I've included links to each review below...
Twangtown
Midnight Jazz
Whisperin and Hollerin

Another night at Barone's

Last Saturday, David and I headed out to Barone's with Tony Russell and his wife Rosemarie, to hear Thelma Jones sing, with Karen Hernandez on piano and Chico Fernandez on drums. What a great night, and wow, was Thelma on fire!! Standouts included "God Bless the Child" (performed as a rumba), "For All We Know", and a rousing closing number whose title I can't remember. It was late. Guitar great Barry Zweig dropped in for dinner, and of course he was summoned to go outside and get his guitar - which he did - and he played all night! I ordered a steak (which I never do) and right after finishing my meal, Thelma called me onstage to sing a song...my steak hadn't yet reached my stomach. Oh dear. I was completely caught off guard, started in with "Like Someone in Love", only to forget the lyrics to the 2nd verse!! I have no idea what I sang to get through that section, but I felt like Jason Castro from American Idol, ripping apart "Tambourine Man". Oh well...like I said, it was late. Right after that, Tony, Thelma and I all joined in on a raucous version of "Sunny Side of the Street", and the audience sang along. (When Tony gets involved, it's always raucous!) But the audience hadn't seen anything yet! Thelma took a break from singing, while Tony took the stage to entertain the audience with "some jokes"..let me tell you, this was probably the best night Tony's ever had. He had Barry Zweig laughing so hard, he had to stop a few times. Tony's a true master, and it's too bad this wasn't caught on film!

Check out some live footage of Dad's piano solo on "Take Me Back to Tulsa"...! This is from the "Marty Robbins' Show" in the 60's...priceless footage! Thank God for YouTube!

Dad with Marty Robbins

Well, look what I found on YouTube!! Some stills of Dad, set over a recording of his instrumental performance of "Love Can't Wait", on the Marty Robbins Show (I'm assuming). Lovely tune, and truly another era. He really looks like he's having a great time in these photos. Dad was on countless Marty Robbins sessions. If I can figure out a way to post the hilarious "out-takes" from these sessions, I will! They're all on cassette tapes..!