MULTI-AWARD WINNING SAN FRANCISCO VOCALIST LINDA KOSUT with QUARTET at JAZZ AT PEARL`S, JUNE 22, 2008 Featuring the songs of Oscar Brown Jr
Released on: May 17, 2008, 5:36 pm
Press Release Author: Ruth Lyon / Jizel Music
Industry: Entertainment
Press Release Summary: Linda's recent CD release & tour, "Long As You're Living - the songs & poetry of Oscar Brown Jr.", paid tribute to this entertainer, jazz legend, poet, activist and politician, etc. The show toured to the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, to Oscar's hometown of Chicago, and many appearances in both New York and San Francisco. The show & CD received national recognition.
At Kosut\'s Jazz at Pearl's show in 2006, Maggie Brown, Oscar's daughter, flew in from Chicago to sing and show her support.
At this new JAZZ AT PEARL'S show, Kosut will feature songs from her highly acclaimed CD to Brown, as well as other Brown material, among others.
Jazz at Pearl's 256 Columbus, North Beach, San Francisco June 22, 2008 - 8:00pm & 10:00pm Tix: $20/$15 (+ 2-drink min) Reservations: 415.291.8255 or jazzatpearls.com
Linda will be backed by a stellar JAZZ QUARTET headed by bandleader Max Perkoff on piano & trombone, Daniel Fabricant on bass, John Mader on percussion and Tony Malfatti on reeds. Also performing will be guest vocalist Benn Bacot.
Press Release Body: MAY 2008. San Francisco vocalist LINDA KOSUT will be performing songs from her highly acclaimed CD and tribute show to jazz legend Oscar Brown Jr. on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at the world renowned Jazz at Pearl's in San Francisco. Linda will be backed by a stellar JAZZ QUARTET headed by bandleader Max Perkoff on piano & trombone, Daniel Fabricant on bass, John Mader on percussion and Tony Malfatti on reeds. Jazz at Pearl's is located in San Francisco's North Beach at 256 Columbus. Showtimes 8pm & 10pm. Reservations: www.jazzatpearls.com or 415.291.8255.
At Linda's November 2006 show, Maggie Brown, Oscar's daughter, flew in from Chicago to sing and show her support. At this new JAZZ AT PEARL'S show, Kosut will feature songs from her highly acclaimed CD to Brown, as well as other Brown material.
This past April, Kosut received BackStage Magazine's 2008 Special Bistro Award - THE BMI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RECORDING for her CD Long As You're Living - the songs & poetry of Oscar Brown Jr. She also received two MAC Award nominations - 2008 BEST FEMALE JAZZ VOCALIST and BEST JAZZ RECORDING (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs; and the Cabaret Hotline 2007-MEMBERS' CHOICE AWARD . The CD tour presented in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York in 2007/2008.
The BackStage award ceremony took place on April 7 at New York's Gotham Comedy Club where Kosut was honored along with Broadway/Jazz/Cabaret stars such as Jason Graae, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and Ms. Marilyn Maye. The MAC Awards' ceremony was on May 6 at New York's B.B. King's Blues Club.
Linda's recent CD release & tour, "Long As You're Living - the songs & poetry of Oscar Brown Jr.", paid tribute to this entertainer, jazz legend, poet, activist and politician, etc. The show toured to the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, to Oscar's hometown of Chicago, and many appearances in both New York and San Francisco.
Kosut, a "baby boomer," started her music career seriously just 7 years ago. Her motivation - to do "that one thing that, at the end of the day, if I didn't do, I would regret not having done." Putting "one foot in front of the other," and "doing whatever is next in front of me," led Kosut to her success to date.
"Is this what I dreamed for myself when I was a little girl? Well, yes," she said. "I have achieved far more success than I thought I could. No regrets about this one."
Linda, a New York native, grew up a musical family. Her parents were both amateur singers and pianists; she studied dance and piano as a young girl and after graduating college, turned to business for her livelihood while continuing her studies in voice and acting. Several years after her move to San Francisco, Linda began singing again, this time publicly, and by 2003, released her debut CD, Life is But a Dream - an eclectic mix of jazz standards and pop tunes - selected as one of the top female vocalist recordings by Cabaret Hotline in New York.
Linda also teaches performance technique, lyric interpretation and produces showcases for emerging vocal performers. She currently lives in San Francisco with her fiancé, their 3 dogs, 2 chickens, 2 turtles, a rabbit and 40 aquariums! * * * The pairing of the legendary African-American composer, lyricist, performer, poet, playwright, essayist, university lecturer, television series host, actor, journalist, political candidate, activist, etc., Oscar Brown Jr. and vocalist Kosut, a self-described \"nice, white Jewish girl from the Bronx\" has proved to be as surpassingly successful as it was unlikely. In the year after Brown's 2005 passing, Kosut, a perennially popular San Francisco Bay Area cabaret performer, became enamored over the Oscar Brown Jr. oeuvre, and with very little encouragement, very much research and even more \"show must go on\" Bronx bravado, created a one-woman tribute show to a one and only musical and cultural icon that has since sold out venues throughout the United States, and reaped rave reviews as is evidenced by her recent awards and national reviews.
Oscar Brown Jr., a Chicago native (1926-2005) is increasingly recognized as among the most significantly influential American musical and cultural figures of the past half-century. The author of such song standards as Afro Blue, Brown Baby, But I Was Cool, Forbidden Fruit, Forty Acres And A Mule, Signifyin' Monkey, The Snake, etc. (Pub: Carlin America, Inc.) The works of Oscar Brown Jr. have been recorded by a vast variety of major star artists including Barbra Streisand, Diane Reeves, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, Abbey Lincoln, Diana Ross, Toni Braxton, Chaka Khan, Holly Cole, Shelia Jordan, Chris Connor, Lizz Wright, Karrin Allyson, Susannah McCorkle, Gloria Lynne, Paula West, Lou Rawls, Albert Collins, Bill Henderson, Tim Hardin, Al Wilson, Johnny Rivers, Mongo Santamaria, Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, etc
Kosut is working on her next project while continuing to perform her Oscar Brown Jr. tribute, as well as performing her full repertoire in venues and private events throughout the country. View Linda's website for up-to-date calendar information. * * *
"The singer hits all the right notes on her 'Long as You're Living' tribute...an illuminating view into the complex byways of Brown's imagination...Kosut tackled it all with splendid results... [the show] deserved a far longer run.\" Los Angeles Times
"It takes as fine an actor as Brown to do proper justice to his songs. So, it seems altogether fitting that a female cabaret performer . particularly one as gutsy as Linda Kosut, should pay album-length tribute to Brown." Jazz Times
"This album is almost like a collaboration. Linda's voice is definitely one of the stars of the show, yet Oscar's personality is ever present. His lyrical intent is never lost or buried even as Linda manages to artistically sit by his side. She is a singer of great ability." Jazz Review
"Holding the audience spellbound for an evening of largely unfamiliar and challenging material is no easy task, but that's what Kosut did." \"She swings, she's bluesy, dramatic and playful paying homage to Brown's thought- provoking material; bringing her own subtlety and emotion to the stage.\" \"She brings this timeless material to life for a new generation of listeners.\" Cabaret Scenes Magazine
\"Her voice...silky and sinuous . a smoky plaintiveness with an edge." San Francisco Bay Times
"Bang in the groove ... slinky and sly in unraveling the blues." All About Jazz
"A welcome reminder of the multi-faceted work of the man who proudly defied being categorized or pigeon-holed by one kind of music. Linda Kosut doesn\'t seem to have much interest in being labeled either." Cabaret Exchange
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