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Julie Christensen

Born: January 21

Versatility has never been a problem or a pose for singer JulieChristensen, whose voicefound a home in the L.A. post-punk band Divine Horsemenand, for years, as a spotlightedsinger with Leonard Cohen. With Something Familiar, her thirdCD, she adds another genrefeather to the cap: jazz. Singing standards, and in her ownsignature style, is actuallynothing new for the vocalist. In her sundry travels,geographically and musically, she hasdipped into the Great American Songbook for years, from hernative Iowa to years spent inAustin and Los Angeles, and onto her current life, based inOjai, California. SomethingFamiliar is more than a standards festival. The album title itselfis taken from a fascinatingJimmy Webb-penned rarity, “Just Like Marilyn,” There is alsothe original “Hard to Love,”and a gritty-bluesy workout, “Today I Sing the Blues.” Withher keyboardist and longtimecreative cohort Karen Hammack, Christensen tracked inBrooklyn with noted jazzdrummers Jeff Ballard and Kenny Wollesen, alongsidebassists Mary Ann McSweeney andDon Falzone. Back on the west coast, trumpeter Jeff Elliottand pedal steel guitarist-of-note Greg Liesz added their spices to the mix. The end resultis a fresh twist on oldmusical values, something familiar yet also otherwise.