Monday 2 November 2015

First week New York City Come Together shows….

Autumn in New York and here I am near Central Park which has meant I've been able to walk and run there pretty much daily, and its so beautiful - in the sunshine and out of it, the oranges and reds of the trees and the joy of people and children kicking up the leaves, and all the dog walkers and the dogs in their little tartan jackets and high chic. Beautiful.







The shows at Feinstein's/54 Below went wonderfully and there were some lovely reviews - here

in Broadway World

http://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/BWW-Review-Barb-Jungr-John-McDaniel-Come-Together-To-Perform-Iconic-Beatles-Songs-With-Eloquence-Sincerity-and-Freshness-at-Feinsteins54-Below-20151029

in Times Square Chronicles, here

http://t2conline.com/stephen-sorokoff-my-view-something-old-is-new-again-barb-jungr-john-mcdaniel-sing-the-beatles-2/#

and photos from the same reviewer, Stephen Sorokoff, are here

http://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/Photo-Coverage-Barb-Jungr-John-McDaniel-Sing-The-Beatles-at-Feinsteins54-Below-20151030

and finally, Paulanne's review from Theater Pizzazz, here

http://www.theaterpizzazz.com/barb-jungr-meets-the-beatles-in-come-together/

We had a ball with loads of friends joining us for shows, the lists long, but here's Mike Lunoe and Vasily Senin with us after saturday's final show last week.

After the last show with John McDaniel, Vasily Senin, and Mike Lunoe.
On friday we open in San Francisco for 2 nights then Los Angeles for one. Hope to see you there, all details below -

http://www.hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins.aspx

and

http://www.catalinajazzclub.com

and Stop The War Coalition made Train on the Move their song of the month, here - Train on the Move by Jungr/Tomalin of the month on Stop The War Coalition website -

http://stopwar.org.uk/index.…/…/barb-jungr-train-on-the-move

feel free to share that with everyone.



Till them, have a great week.


Sunday 4 October 2015

The Kate TV, St George's Bristol, Chiddingly, Corby and podcasts

Its been a wild, whirlwind of a week and a half and I'm drawing breath but only just to put down my case and washing and get my stage clothes ready again, as in a couple of days I head out to Berlin with Simon Wallace and Davide Mantovani to perform Hard Rain at this lovely German venue -

http://www.bar-jeder-vernunft.de/de/programm-tickets/

And only 10 days ago we played at St George's, Bristol. What a superb night. Great sound and a great gig and a whopping house of people. It was wonderful to be back in Bristol because its been ages, and we found a very good Korean noodle bar with the biggest plates of fun starters - word of warning to singers - probably best not to have the salt and pepper things when you're just about to sing and need all the hydration you can get……

Then it was blood moon super luna night, and we were in the middle of the most glorious countryside - deep Sussex - for the Chiddingly Festival. Again - a great night, a packed house, and a drive back under the most glorious moon I've seen for many a while. So many of us were moon gazing that night - all over the world, as we did since time immemorial. And we were amply rewarded.

"and the moon rose over an open field"
And here's Davide and Simon sound checking in Chiddingly -

Simon Wallace and Davide Mantovani soundchecking
Then I was off to the States to perform for The Kate TV show which will be broadcast in early 2016 all across the USA. So no pressure! We rehearsed at Michiko in New York as usual, the mighty Laurence Hobgood on piano and keys, Wilson Torres on percussion and Michael Olatuja on double and electric bass. Then on wednesday we headed out to Old Saybrook Connecticut - the guys in the minibus with the equipment and me in the back of Gail Boyd's car with her husband the esteemed Walter Beach at the wheel. You can read about Walter's book, (its wonderful) - here

http://walterbeach.com

We stayed at the Old Saybrook Inn and Spa which may be one of the best hotels I've visited recently. The room was bigger than my flat here in London, and the view from my balcony was a slice of heaven. I had the balcony window open all night and drifted in and out of sleep to the sound of waves slapping against the sides of boats, which creaked and heaved in the water as the wind came up. The dawn breaking was worth getting up for, and its not often you'll find me saying that.

Dawn breaking over the Sound from my balcony window Old Saybrook Inn and Spa.
The TV session was a fiery and marvellous experience. I was chomping at the bit to get this new material onto a live stage at last. We'd recorded and mixed already and the album, Shelter From the Storm, will be released on Linn Records in February 2016, with a UK and a US tour in March and May respectively.

Lida Emert did the best markup - honestly, that woman is a star. She listened and then did what I wanted but about ten times better. And was a joy to be with.

Make up by Lida!
 The staff at The Kate theatre in Old Saybrook could not have been more accommodating or kinder. Outfit wise I went for a catsuit. I know. I was talked into it by one of stage clothes shops. They said, "go on, try it" so there I was in a catsuit. To be fair its a French catsuit which meant it was glam and not super tight - it was more Mrs Bloggs goes Paris than Emma Peel if I'm honest. Nonetheless it was glam.

The catsuit after the show…...
Glam is essential. I'm an old school punk glam gal. So it was French catsuit and studded boots. But to the important things - I can't speak too highly of the musicians I am working with. Laurence Hobgood is just a star. That man is a joy to work with. Inspiring, bar-raising, and funny too. Michael and Wilson were a delight all the time, and what is it about musicians and bananas? They love 'em. Potassium must make for good playing…..
Michael Olatuja and Wilson Torres soundchecking at The Kate

Laurence and Michael at sound check


I had a slight jet lag moment with Bali Hai but after couple of false starts we sailed through. It was high tension and high jinx. Laurence described it as "bold". That works for me. Its a bold album. I can't wait for it to come out. Just seen the artwork and love that. Here's a bunch of photos of the filming.
This is what we looked like from the audience…….
After the show we hung out with a bunch of fabulous friends from the O'Neill including Braiden Sunshine who is wowing America on The Voice, and rightly so. What a talented and lovely young man he is.

With Braiden Sunshine after the show
Leon and Anne took us to a roadhouse bar for drinks called if  memory serves, The Monkey Farm. That was something. Good nachos. Good nachos are a wonderful thing. Extra jalapeños. Thats the trick. And the next morning we said goodbye till we meet again for APAP in January and touring in the New Year.

With Wilson, Gail my US manager, Michael and Laurence in the hotel the morning after.


Then it was back to the UK. Sardine time on the plane, so slept little. But returned to find the podcast I did with James Taylor is out. Its about life and music and so on.

http://icmponline.com/podcast/barb-jungr/

And to Corby to do our Deep Roots Tall Trees concert which was a huge success…. photo of the choir and the musicians and I, here…..courtesy of Janet Halsey….

Deep Roots Tall Trees choir with Mark Brennan, George Reilly, Gareth Fuller and I at The Core in Corby










and then to Crazy Coqs to sing Love Me Tender with Jenny Carr on piano and Dudley Philips on bass. And now its off to Berlin. Which is where I started. So, hope to see you at a show soon……meanwhile….I'm off to Berlin! Namaste! See you there.

Sunday 13 September 2015

Edinburgh, The Isle of Wight and back again……...

Well the Edinburgh Festival was marvellous. We all arrived in various states of jet lag form all over the world and lived in a flat in Leith, my brother in law Tim, Mirek my nephew, Vasily Senin the Russian director and John McDaniel my glorious collaborator on Come Together (The Beatles collaboration). We did a radio show together after he got off the plane, and amazingly he managed to play and sing, which is more than I would have done straight off a transatlantic flight. We saw a bunch of fabulous shows including Penny Arcade, David Benson's Boris World King, Todd Gordon's Sinatra show, some brilliant acrobats called Cirque La Roux and a truly hideous thing cavilled Velvet I think, I might have blanked the title we loathed it so much. If by chance I go to hell I am pretty certain they'll be showing shows like that. Here's some Edinburgh fun photos.

With Dillie Keane, Warren Lakin and Ronnie Golden after a show



With Michael Parker and legendary comedian Arnold Brown, with whom I won The Perrier Award in  the 1980s
It was absolutely great to do the Come Together set 3 times, and after each show to hang out with such fabulous friends, many of whom I've worked with over a 40 year period. Just gorgeous. Our apartment in Leith was near my old collaborator and fellow song writer and musician and dear friend, Michael Parker, and he found time for us to catch up, for which I was dearly grateful. We made this together years ago, the album's available here now at last for download

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/blue-devils/id974596330

and the video is here

And there was the doing of the new show. John and I found so much in it, and thank you again to the glorious Vasily for this wonderful photograph of us taking a bow together.

John McDaniel and I taking our bow in Edinburgh after Come Together at the Old Assembly Rooms.
We performed at the Old Assembly Rooms. Well, memory lane. They've made a mess of the refurb, trashing the old supper room and turning it into a Jamie's. The old Music Hall and Ballroom are shadows of their former selves and the studio that Todd played in was in one of those formats that prompt the question "Are you havin' a laugh?". Then came the news that the officialdom of Edinburgh is going to - not being content with the above - bring in "a variety of promoters" to programme the venue next year. What a rubbish idea. So they really are killing one of the most legendary of the old venues. It used to be the only performers' bar to be seen in, that Assembly Bar. The deals that were done there. Gone. I despair at the idiocy of some planning and council decisions when it comes to the arts. Why not consult us? We know. Don't get me started.

For something much nicer here are some people I love.

Mirek my beloved nephew, Tim my brother in law, the gorgeous Earl Dax and Joey Arias's friend in a selfie of great joy after the show.




And if you forgot what the Come Together show is about……here's a taster, and there'll be a lot of chances to see it in the autumn in New York, San Francisco, LA and London. All dates are on my website at

www.barbjungr.com

Here's the taster…..Vasily Senin's fabulous film…..



And then I went on my family holiday. The Isle of Wight is a little island off the south coast of England. Rolling hills, cliffs and downs, heather heaths and headlands. We saw badgers at night eating from the waste bins on the sea front beside our apartment (I did take a photo but its so dark there's no point showing it to you, I know there's a badger there but digital photography failed me and I couldn't use a flash for fear of frightening the little fellow), bats danced over heads on dusk walks, foxes slunk across our paths, salamanders lounged on the wooden steps from the beach to the headland. It was alive! We visited a donkey sanctuary that was truly magical. We fell in love with donkeys. Who wouldn't? There was a falconry display, with kites soaring over us and falcons swooping down to grab tiny pieces of meat from the hilarious joke man and handler. We wandered around Queen Victoria's rural hideaway Osborne House wondering how you could have so much money and buy such hideous paintings, and ate seafood in Ventnor in the sunshine. Heavenly.

And every day I ran up to the headland and back, and watched the Needles change under the varying skies.

The Needles from my headland daily run
At night we walked the beach and watched the waves.

Dusk at Totland
Perfect holiday Totland Bay dusk at low tide
Now its back, and shows are looming. I'm at St George's Hall Bristol

http://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/event/barb-jungr-hard-rain/

and Chiddingly Festival with Hard Rain,

http://chiddinglyfestival.co.uk

 and then to the US to film the new album live at The Kate.

http://thekate.tv/artists/barb-jungr/

and after that there'll be a new blog, with any luck!

Come see us somewhere, we are all over the country and in October in Berlin. The USA this autumn and more.

Till then, happy autumn. Jeremy Corbyn elected leader of the Labour Party gives me hope for the future, as do the many people giving of their time and money to help those less fortunate on the move in mass migrations from the rest of the world to Europe. Its, I hope, a new dawn and a new day for more people, everywhere.

From the Queen's Hall, thank you Billy for filming this in 2012, sound not great but feeling good is the watchword.



and lest I forget a wonderful review by Alex Ramon of the Crazy Coqs Stockport To Memphis show last weekend on Boycotting Trends website.

http://boycottingtrends.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/concert-review-stockport-to-memphis.html

So a brilliant Namaste - which I say as a yoga practitioner and not as a noodle!

Barb


Sunday 9 August 2015

Connecticut The Beatles Shirley Jones new Video and more

So here we are, as the sun sets over Waterford public beach, and all the members of the 2015 Cabaret Conference head homewards, some of us to other continents, some to NY City, and what a wonderful 2 weeks we had.

On the rocks at Linda Mariani's party for us all at her gorgeous seafront house. 
The last couple of days went in a blur with the legendary Shirley Jones visiting us and performing and talking with us and giving us a window into her Hollywood life. What a dream of a woman - still gorgeous at 82, still singing, and so smart and witty. We all managed to crowbar ourselves into photos with her, I wish I'd have been in slightly more glamorous gear for mine, but it was in the middle of a teaching day…..thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Lennie Watts and I with the great Shirley Jones
A few days before we'd had a superb day off and we'd all been invited to Linda Mariani's beautiful waterfront home for cocktails and canapés and we'd stumbled over the rocks tipsy with sun and freedom.

That break was so welcome as the day before John McDaniel and I launched/birthed, whatever, our new Beatles collection Come Together. This is us at the encore. There'll be video soon. And here it is!


Thank you Vasily Senin for making this fab video of our new show.

At the encore of Come Together O'Neill Center, Waterford, Connecticut.

So here's some photos Vinnie took of the show



And here is Vasily Senin with Molly Pope and I after the Gala ending show.


With the wonderful Lennie Watts with whom I worked.

Lennie Watts and I.

And now its a few days of getting my head together and I'm off to mix the new album. So here's a taster shot from the session in July in New York.

Michael Olatuja on bass at Sear Sound NYC

And straight after  mixing I'm at the Edinburgh Festival doing 3 shows of Come Together with John McDaniel, have you booked yet?

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/come-together-barb-jungr-and-john-mcdaniel-perform-the-beatles

Friday 17 July 2015

Last day of New York shows, new recording,filming ...the tale thus far….


Last Day of New York shows, new recording and the tale thus far….

and this is a rush job because I have to get to a soundcheck and the breeze is blowing and the sun's shining and its my last night at Joe's of this run, and its been beautiful being there. The staff, the sound and lights, the audiences…..gorgeous….and so many friends have popped by or will pop by tonight. And I've been on the Boardwalk with Pamela Lewis and seen friends and had a ball and after tonight start another chapter which will be in the next photo blog…….so here's the skinny so far…..

Calum Malcolm and I at Sear Sound
I'd spent a weekend after the first couple of brilliant Joe's nights recording in Sear Sound Studios with legendary producer Calum Malcolm at the controls, working with Laurence Hobgood, Michael Olatuja and Wilson Torres on what will become the next CD.

So tonight's the last of the Joe's Pub run and here are some fun things in no order at all.

Tracy Stark and Mike Lunoe outside Joe's Pub
OK and now, I am looking out of my window as I write and I can see the reservoir in Central Park that I only an hour ago ran around, slowly, to be fair, but with joy and zest. I may not be the fastest runner in the world but I am certainly one of the jolliest, spreading song and joie de vivre liberally among all I pass, and all who pass me, which from a running point of view is pretty much everyone else on the running track. Here are the views from the running track this lunchtime -



There have been some gorgeous moments at Joe's Pub with lots of friends dropping by, a handful of them are here -

Dr Thelma Reyes, Tonya Pinkins and I after the Joe's Pub show.

Joey Arias and Earl Dax popped by and one night we had a wonderful dinner, after which we were all in love with life and the city and one another……

Earl looking sultry and Joey and I looking cool despite the humidity and being generally hot…..




One afternoon I recorded a Russian TV show with Oleg Frish. He is a tour do force and no mistake.

Oleg Frish and I at his studios.
There was recording at our album rehearsals for a new TV series over here called The Kate which I'll have a full hour of in the New Year, here's the producer, Jennifer Boyd and I, during a singing break at Michiko Rehearsal Rooms.

Jennifer Boyd, series producer of The Kate, andy I at Michiko Rehearsal Rooms, Midtown.

There have been some nice reviews, too -

http://cabaretscenes.org/2015/07/15/barb-jungr-hard-rain-the-songs-of-bob-dylan-and-leonard-cohen-2/


http://www.newyorkcabarettoday.com/#!Barb-Jungr-Presents-a-Gripping-and-Fun-Hard-Rain-at-Joes-Pub-with-Songs-by-Dylan-and-Cohen/cmbz/55a93b430cf21636d300a172
And now I really do have to run to soundcheck….and sing. Otherwise there'll be no roof over my head nor food on my table…….have a great weekend, I'm going to Minnesota. More of that, next week!

Namaste, y'all, big summer love. Barb 

Saturday 6 June 2015

New Video filmed Live at Crazy Coqs and upcoming dates UK and USA

The wonderful Matt Lynch has just finished editing some of the live shows we have filmed this spring at Crazy Coqs in Soho, and here's the first, of Cole Porter's I Love Paris from April's Sunday residency show, where he filmed with Marcus Reeves and Justin Smith did the sound. Simon Wallace was on piano and Davide Mantovani on double bass. It was a fab night.


I'm hard at work preparing for both the new album which is recording in a month's time in New York with the fabulous Laurence Hobgood, and the new live show which I'm preparing with John McDaniel for both the O'Neill Cabaret Conference where we'll launch it on August 3rd, and the Edinburgh Festival here, where we'll do 3 shows in August.

http://www.arfringe.com/show/1821/come_together_barb_jungr_and_john_mcdaniel_perform_the_beatles

Barb and John McDaniel


Meanwhile I'm at The City of London Festival end of June with Simon Wallace and Davide Mantovani  singing Nina Simone and Hard Rain.

http://www.colf.org/whats-on/?EventID=1433

and

http://www.colf.org/whats-on/?EventID=1434

Exciting times. In New York there'll be 4 Hard Rain shows, and at The Rrazz Room in Hope, PA -

http://www.therrazzroom.com/event/43742db44410022407c6207103579d9f

and here's the Joe's Pub info

http://joespub.publictheater.org/en/tickets/calendar/playdetailscollection/joes-pub/2015/b/barb-jungr/?SiteTheme=JoesPub



Looking forward to seeing you there.

Namaste! Happy summertime……..