Results for "Great American Songbook"

Billie Eidson

Born: February 16

Billie Eidson is an Oregon trial lawyer, former Assistant Attorney General, educator, jazz vocalist, and bandleader. For more than 25 years, her legal career has included representing individuals in complex civil litigation involving civil rights, employment discrimination, serious personal injury, wrongful death, sexual abuse, and medical negligence, as well as defending the State of Oregon in high-stakes cases.

Before becoming a lawyer, Billie taught high school—an experience that shaped her belief that effective advocacy begins with listening, clarity, and genuine human connection. She earned her law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

Peggy Lee

Born: May 26, 1920

Across a seven-decade career, Peggy Lee helped shape the sound of American popular music. With a voice marked by intimacy, subtlety, and a masterful sense of phrasing, she became one of the most distinctive vocalists of the twentieth century, moving effortlessly between jazz, popular song, blues, and the Great American Songbook. She recorded more than 1,100 masters, wrote over 270 songs, and charted more than 100 hits.

At a time when singers in popular music rarely wrote their own material, Peggy was one of the earliest and most successful contemporary singer-songwriters. She co-wrote many of her own hits, including “It’s a Good Day,” “Mañana,” and “Where Can I Go Without You?” and also composed for film, co-writing songs for Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, including “He’s a Tramp” and “La La Lu.”

Marcus Goldhaber

Born: September 13, 1978

New York–based jazz singer and songwriter Marcus Goldhaber is a Hot House Magazine and BroadwayWorld.com nominee for Best Male Vocalist , as well as a MAC Award nominee for Best Song .

Widely acknowledged as a standout artist on the Jazz and Cabaret scene, his signature velvet baritenor has been heard at Carnegie Hall, 54 Below, Birdland, Blue Note, Iridium, The Cutting Room, and Kitano (New York City); the Catalina (Los Angeles, California); Count Basie Theatre (Red Bank, New Jersey with the Joe Mucioli Big Band); Lied Center (Lawrence, Kansas); The Smith Center (Las Vegas, Nevada); The RRazz Room (New Hope, Pennsylvania); King Concert Hall (Fredonia, New York, with the Nick Weiser Big Band); World Café Live (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); The 1891 Fredonia Opera House (Fredonia, New York); and the Sellersville Theater (Sellersville, Pennsylvania), where he opened for Jane Monheit.

Swingtime Big Band

Active since: 1972

Dedicated to the performance of America's greatest popular standards, SWINGTIME BIG BAND is a 20-piece authentic swing band comprised of master interpreters of music from the Swing Era (mid-1930s through early 1950s) and beyond.  Hailed by The New York Times as “Musicians who make the sounds of the pre-rock era rock,” and by Newsday as “Long Island’s leading professional big band…dedicated to the Great American Songbook,” the ensemble specializes in performing Big

Band classics as originally recorded, bringing to life the style and the spirit of this uniquely American music for today’s audiences to experience in living color.  In recognition of the band’s efforts in “perpetuating, promoting & performing with integrity the sounds of the Big Band Era,” SWINGTIME was officially honored by the Big Band Hall of Fame in 2007 as “Ambassadors of Big Band Music.”

Modernistics Trio

Called “absolutely joyous, virtuosic and wonderful!” (Concerts at the Crane), The Modernistics Trio captivates audiences with stylish and inventive interpretations of The Great American Songbook – exuberant music from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and beyond.  They tour as a trio and with the full Modernistics Quintet, performing for The Stissing Center (NY), Kimberton Arts Alliance (PA), Colby College Concert Series (ME), Ocean Park Music Festival, The Guilford Library Summer Series (CT), The Port Jervis Library (NY), The Manchester CT Library, The Robert H Wood Great Artists Series (NY), Misericordia Performing Arts (PA), Medallion Opera House (NH), and many others.  

Russ Lorenson

Born: July 5, 1963

A terrific voice. Charisma to spare. A delightful raconteur. Unassuming nice guy. All true of Russ Lorenson, whose burnished tenor and magnetic stage presence have dazzled audiences from San Francisco to Paris.

Over a career spanning more than two decades, the three-time MAC Award nominee has traced an artistic path from musical theatre to cabaret and ultimately to jazz, all rooted in the enduring tradition of the Great American Songbook. He is known for breathing new life into timeless classics, delivering every note with elegance, swing, and soul, whether commanding the spotlight in grand concert halls or captivating listeners in intimate settings.

Krystof Medyna

Born: April 18, 1949

KRYSTOF (Krzysztof) MEDYNA was born on April 18, 1949, in Jelenia Góra. He displayed musical talent from childhood. He grew up in a family with a long musical tradition. His grandfather, Aleksander Szwarc, was the conductor of the Representative Orchestra of the Polish Army. His mother studied piano at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music but did not complete her studies due to the outbreak of war.

Krzysztof initially studied piano, then clarinet. He quickly became interested in jazz. Like most of his generation, he explored the mysteries of this music through Willis Conover's famous radio broadcasts, the Voice of America Jazz Hour. He learned his musical skills from a group of Szczecin jazz musicians.

Eleonora Kouneni

Born: May 18

Eleonora Kouneni is a London-based jazz vocalist and songwriter known for her contemporary and emotive jazz vocal style and unique original compositions. She launched her musical career in Athens, opening for legendary Greek vocalists Maria Farantouri and Savina Yannatou at the 16th Greek Anti-Racism Festival, before relocating to London and establishing herself in the city’s jazz scene. 

She since relocated to London quickly establishing herself in the London jazz scene, performing at various London bars and venues, including the Green Note and Vortex Jazz Club. She has also performed in the US, including at Pangea in New York City, and most recently a sold-out set at Monks Jazz Club in Austin, alongside renowned musicians from the US jazz scene.

Her independently released debut EP If You Just…, introduced her songwriting to international audiences, with its lead single reaching over 2.5 million streams across 170 countries and drawing over 36,000 monthly listeners. This global reach helped pave the way for several London shows, including sold-out shows at the Green Note Basement, a showcase in New York City, and a recent sold-out headline show at the Monks Jazz Club in Austin, TX, with some of the best musicians in town, which was also livestreamed internationally.

Jo Walker

Born: October 24

Jo Walker is a New York City based jazz singer. She's lead vocalist for the Mercer Street Quartet, a Manhattan-based band focused on the American Songbook. With veteran players Marc Daine on guitar, Sean Conly on bass and Chip Fabrizi on drums, Mercer Street has a cool and intimate sound that celebrates the great vocal jazz recordings of the 60s. She's currently in the studio at PPI Recording working on a jazz Christmas album produced and engineered by award-winning Chip Fabrizi.

Hannah Brine

Hannah Brine is a singer-songwriter based in the Peak District, UK.

Hannah is releasing her debut album Blue Sky Now independently in June 2025. While rooted in modern jazz sensibilities, Blue Sky Now is also influenced by iconic singer-songwriters spanning several decades, such as Carole King, Norah Jones, Cleo Sol and Rumer, who Hannah is supporting on tour later this year.

As well as developing a strong reputation for her solo work and live performances, Hannah Brine is a highly successful choir director, assembling and managing vocal ensembles for TV and recording projects such as the Americana Awards, ITV Voices and the Royal Variety Show, as well as for high profile live events such as WOMAD and Wilderness Festivals. Hannah co-wrote and provided lead vocals on the 2022 single “You and I” with DJ Ciaran McAuley & Roger Shah, which topped the global trance charts, and has also written a number of pieces of choral music, including Winter Lark, a song for lockdown which was featured on Scala FM.