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Cover Stories
Blue: The Music of Joni Mitchell
Blue: The Music of Joni Mitchell
— Cover Stories’ tribute to Joni Mitchell, focuses on music from the first phase of Joni’s career. Taking its title from her landmark 1970 album, the concert presents “Blue” in its entirety, along with many other favorites from her other early albums (“Song To a Seagull,” “Clouds,” “Ladies of the Canyon,” “For the Roses” and “Court and Spark.”) Joni’s exquisitely crafted words and music shine in this intimate, acoustic concert. (Company of six including piano, two female vocal/guitarists, and backing vocals.)
BIOS
LESLIE ELLIS —Grammy Awardwinning vocalist Leslie Ellis performs live across the United States and Europe with music partner and hit songwriter Casey Kelly. Through her career Leslie has sung with many artists, including Celine Dion on My Heart will Go On— from the movie Titanic (for which Leslie won the Grammy) and Thomas Dolby on his album Forty(featured on Hyperactive). She sang the original soundtrack song, Six Times Around the Sun for the CBS miniseries, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town and she’s done countless TV/radio jingles and song demos for Sony Music. Last year, her self-penned The Flyer Song was adopted by the U.S. Navy and made into a video as a tribute to the troops and their families. (This video is available on her Web site www.LeslieEllis.com.) She also has written songs that were recorded by The Bellamy Brothers and New York-based artist David Ippolito. As an actress, Leslie has appeared on television and on Broadway — in Cats, La Cage aux Follesand City of Angels, among others — and in 2007 starred in the independent film My Name Is Wallace, which was invited to the Cannes Film Festival. Leslie has released two solo albums, Standing at the Moment and Leslie Ellis, on Working Jane Records.
JO WILLIAMSON —New York-based singer-songwriter and actress Jo Williamson writes, sings and performs music in and around the tri-state area. In February 2008, she self-released her well-received debut EP Wake on the Hudson. In the winter of 2007, she recorded Left Behind with avantgarde/classical composer Faye Ellen Silverman who wrote the piece for French horn and voice, based on a musical narrative Jo created with horn player Ann Ellsworth called Left Right. As an actress, she most recently played one of her heroines, Joan la Pucelle, in Henry the Sixth: Blood and Roses at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. She also has worked on soundscape projects with British video artist Chris Allen and The Light Surgeons. Currently, she dabbles in radio, co-hosting with Bob Johnson on his Second Saturday Magazineon WPKN 89.5 in Bridgeport, Conn. Jo is thrilled to be working on Joni Mitchell's music with such wonderful musical companions.
BOB STILLMAN — Possibly the only acoustic singer-songwriter to have starred on Broadway opposite Vanessa Williams (that was in Kiss of the Spider Woman), Bob has lit up some of New York’s best-known stages as writer, musician and actor, most recently on Broadway in the acclaimed Grey Gardens. He's been nominated twice for Tony Awards — first as actor, composer and onstage pianist in Dirty Blondeand later as one of the songwriters for Urban Cowboy: The Musical. Beyond Broadway, he’s appeared in works by such new-wave composers as Adam Guettel (Saturn Returns at the Public Theater) and Michael John LaChiusa (Hello Again at Lincoln Center), and stood out as the singing Lord Amiens in As You Like Itat the Delacorte in Central Park. TV appearances includes Star Trek: Voyager, Law & Order, Guiding Light and Nickelodeon’s Allegra’s Window. Bob studied piano and composition at the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools beginning at age 9. He released an album of his original songs, Come Down Angel, available online at cdbaby.com, iTunes and all major music download services.
CONNIE JAMES - Connie James has spent the last 20 years as a club and studio singer in New York. She has also been nominated for a Pixie Award for Best Song/Soundtrack in a Motion Picture for the song “Three Words,” which she co-wrote and recorded with Composer/Pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs, for the short subject film Whoa. The film received the Angel Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003. The film was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival last year. A classically trained singer with a degree in music from the University of South Carolina, several years ago Ms. James decided to add acting to her repertoire of talents, landing roles on NBC’s Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit and Homicide: Life on the Street. Ms. James’ voice can be heard as the announcer in commercials for “Partnership for a Drug Free America” and for Denny’s “Skillets for Breakfast.”
Song Titles
Songs will be drawn from the following:
All I Want
My Old Man
Little Green
Carey
Blue
California
This Flight Tonight
River
A Case Of You
The Last Time I Saw Richard
Michael From Mountains
I Had A King
Marcie
Night In The City
Song To A Seagull
Cactus Tree
Chelsea Morning
Both Sides Now
Woodstock
Big Yellow Taxi
The Circle Game
For Free
Woman of Heart And Mind
For The Roses
You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio
Free Man In Paris
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