am I am

So there you go! The new album is ready and will be released in stores on the Juste Une Trace label on April 18th, 2011. So far the feedback has been fantastic, and to quote one of my favorite '70's commercials, "It's a great feeling!"

Am now working on spreading the word through promotion, performances, and press. Any help, contacts or ideas would be hugely appreciated. As always, thank you for your support!

Vicki

Another Adventure!

What a perfectly Parisian evening in J.P. Morgan's fancy gilded concert hall just across from the Ritz! The crowd was a fantastic combination of silent and animated, and I was thrilled to be accompanied by Nico Morelli (piano), Gildas Boclé (bass) and Karl Jannuska (drums). Will never forget it :)

All the best,

Vicki

We did it!

Back from a very intense experience at the Nice Jazz Festival. We took the train down, went right to the sound check, met with the press, did the show, had dinner, then went to hear Ornette Coleman and Earth Wind & Fire! Beautiful setting, amid ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater ("les arènes de Cimiez") and groves of olive trees. The summer heat was stifling. Fortunately our hotel was right on the beach, so we stuck our toes in the water, then had a nightcap and listened to a jazz combo. Train back to Paris the next day. Unforgettable!

Good

Life has been a whirlwind since my last post. Among the thrilling events are a confirmation of my band's appearance at the prestigious Nice Jazz Festival on July 17, the China in Paris on July 16, a special performance at the Mons en Jazz Festival in Belgium on September 4, a fascinating new show with the Grandes Gueules ("Big Mouths") on June 4, a possible label for the CD (though ideas and contacts are still welcome), and an appearance in a documentary by Philippe Kohly, which will appear on France 2 TV in November!

Though I rarely take the time to sit down and think about it, I'm doing things I wouldn't have dreamt of ten years ago. Feeling so fortunate and thankful.

Here's an action pic from the Grandes Gueules show (by Isabelle Dugénie). Try to imagine the sound that goes with it!

Happy summer

Vicki

A Small Gift

Good news - I was contacted to play at the Nice Jazz Festival in July, and couldn't be happier! Fantastic opportunity to present the funky quintet. Just wanted to say thank you - for support, for contacts and coincidences that make the difference. And for music, the eternal impetus.


Sometimes I feel like this guy (but in a good way). Will get there one way or another!

Happy spring -

Vicki

Ode to a Furry Thing

Hi there,

I just heard a friend's Italian greyhound passed away recently. Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge animal lover (dogs in particular), and I took care of little Biche a few times when her owner was away, so I wanted to thank her for the many times she cracked me up - and lifted me up. Wouldn't it be great if we could all live such simple, enthusiastic lives?

Here's to Biche!

What the peck?

The other day I got a call from François Elie Roulin, an accomplished composer with a wry sense of humor. I've often recorded jingles or film music in his studio filled with lava lamps and assorted alien and robot figures. After wishing me a happy new year, he said, "I'm working on a new project, and I need someone who can sing like a chicken, so I thought of you."

Something in my mind sort of did a double-take there: how much of my life has been spent learning to sing, playing piano, composing, booking concerts, traveling, promoting, and not doing things a lot of other people do - to find that this professional is most impressed by my (as yet untested) capacity to make poultry sounds?! Shouldn't there be more to it, after all this time? Or should I just take it as a compliment and chalk it up to things that a lot of other people can't say about themselves?

You know what? I'm gonna go with it! And if you hear a commercial with some unusual warbling anytime soon, please let me know what you think! :)