Anastasia Barzee CD Debuts

On her debut CD, ‘The Dimming of the Day,' acclaimed singer/actress Anastasia Barzee reimagines an eclectic range of Broadway, pop and jazz-infused songs, and showcases a diverse array of her favorite contemporary artists including Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, Randy Newman, Kate Bush, Andrew Lloyd Webber and many more. A full track listing follows.

Barzee puts the project in context: "I wanted to sing songs I have a real connection to. Songs that have moved me - made me think about loss, regret, abandonment, and ultimately finding joy. Essentially, tell the story of what love really is - with all its pain and promise. These are songs I could not have truly understood in my twenties. I also wanted my album to be musically interesting. I didn't want ordinary arrangements of songs we've all heard a million times. I wanted to look at the music fresh."

‘The Dimming of the Day', set for September 27th release on Ghostlight Records, was Produced by Matt Pierson and Arranged by Gil Goldstein, and the pedigree is evident throughout the album, which also showcases such fine artists as StEve Wilson on saxophone, Larry Campbell on guitar and more. John Patrick Shanley provides the liner notes, as seen below. Listen to audio samples and pre-order the album, here: <http://sh-k-boom.com/anastasiabarzee.shtml>

Barzee recalls:
"Matt Pierson understood what I wanted to do and I felt immediately we were on the same page. He teamed me up with Gil Goldstein. How incredible is that? I mean COME ON! Gil Goldstein! Gil was amazing and we bonded hard from the first meeting. We shared a pork sandwich and were on our way to what has become a very special friendship."

Album highlights include the Richard Johnson title track, reinterpreted as a duet with Barzee's ‘White Christmas' co-star Brian d'Arcy James, and, on ‘Nothing Like You've Ever Known' (music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black,) listeners are treated to accordion accompaniment by none other than Gil Goldstein! ‘All I Know' by Jimmy Webb is given a soaring ‘Country' treatment, and multiple tracks take on a jazz vibe thanks to StEve Wilson's soulful saxophone contributions.

Track Listing and credits: Anastasia Barzee's ‘The Dimming of the Day'
1. The Man with the Child in His Eyes (Kate Bush)
2. Summer Me, Winter Me (Bergman/Bergman/LeGrand)
3. Lilac Wine (James Shelton)
4. Dinner at Eight (Rufus Wainwright)
5. The Dimming of the Day (Richard Thomspon)
6. Company (Jones/Johnson)
7. American Tune (Paul Simon)
8. Nothing Like You've Ever Known (Black/Lloyd Webber)
9. Feels Like Home (Randy Newman)
10. Don't Go to Strangers (Kent/Mann/Evans)
11. All I Know (Jimmy Webb)
12. Terrible Things (April Smith)
13. April Moon (RoBert Lee/Leon Ko) (bonus)

Anastasia Barzee: vocals
Gil Goldstein: piano, Fender Rhodes, accordion, arranger
Larry Campbell: guitars
Larry Grenadier: bass
Kendrick Scott: drums
Bashiri Johnson: percussion
Lois Martin, Louise Schulman: violas
Jody Redhage, Maria Jeffers: celli
StEve Wilson: saxophone on 1, 2, 10
Greg Gisbert: trumpet on 12
Brian d'Arcy James: vocal on 5

Produced by Matt Pierson
Recorded by Meredith McCandless at Flux Studios, NYC
Mixed by Fab Dupont at Flux Studios, NYC
Assistant engineers: Daniel Sanint, Mike Comparetto, William McIntyre, John Burgos
Mastered by Alan Silverman at Arf Mastering, NYC

Liner Notes By John Patrick Shanley:
Some singers accost you and insist you listen. Anastasia Barzee does not fall into this camp. Her musicality, her soulful silver peregrinations, go wandering through the overgrown landscapes of love and regret. You have little choice but to follow. On THE MAN WITH THE CHILD IN HIS EYES it becomes clear that women know things that men don't, but that the knowledge does them no good. The song's a subtle wonder, but the real revelation is that voice. There were moments in this recording when I could feel Miss Barzee's voice on my skin. Her intelligence does nothing to get in the way of her sensuality and her emotions. Whether she is leading you to some soft balcony on St. Tropez (SUMMER ME, WINTER ME), or dabbing your honkytonk tears in Nashville (FEELS LIKE HOME, THE DIMMING OF THE DAY,) the theme of these tracks is sophistication of the heart. Christ, this woman knows how to say goodbye! If you have any doubt, just listen to the elegiac DINNER AT EIGHT. Or if you are erotically inclined, try on the sultry supernatural sexiness of LILAC WINE or NOTHING LIKE YOU'VE EVER KNOWN. My advice? Step back from the hurly burly of modern life, pour a glass of dandelion wine, and abandon your heart and mind to this beguiling enchantress. Her magic is good.

Barzee adds this perspective:
"I've made my living in theatre and television. I started out as a singer, got a degree in Music from U of M, sang in a dozen bands all over Miami through my college years and then began what has been a successful career in Television and Musical Theatre. I stopped to have 2 glorious children and now feel it's the right time to make a return to my roots: Singing. Making this album has been the most creatively satisfying experience of my life. No joke."

More about Anastasia Barzee:
Anastasia Barzee has starred on Broadway in numerous musicals and plays. They include: The Tony Award winning production of Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 as Lady Mortimer opposite Kevin Kline, The Tony award winning Urinetown as Hope, Jekyll and Hyde as Emma, and Miss Saigon as the American wife Ellen. She created and starred as Josephine in the West End production of Napoleon directed by Francesca Zambello. Back Stateside, Anastasia created the role of Betty Haynes in the MusicAl White CHRISTMAS directed by Walter Bobbie. Also with Bobbie directing, Anastasia played Lorna Moon in GOLDEN BOY for New York's City Center Encores series. For this portrayal, Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote, "Ms Barzee has a pure-lined, heartfelt way with a song", and the Daily News critic Howard Kissel wrote, "Barzee is devastating, especially the way she catches every nuance of the haunting title song".

Among her many regional credits are The Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration production of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. Her performance of the wronged wife Beth, who sings NOT A DAY GOES BY won her rave reviews and she was asked to reprise a performance of the song for Lincoln Center's Sondheim Celebration Concert. She will also be singing at the Kennedy Center's re-union concert next Summer in D.C.

In television, Ms. Barzee has guest starred on numerous shows including: Law&Order SVU, White Collar, Law&Order, MOV Murder She Wrote with Angela Lansbury,Get A Life (as Chris Elliot's girlfriend), Herman's Head (as Herman's girlfriend) and more. She appeared in the 2010 Doug Liman feature FAIR GAME opposite Sean Penn.

She can be heard on original cast recordings of WHITE CHRISTMAS, NAPOLEON, and SUNSET BOULEVARD.

More info here: http://sh-k-boom.com/anastasiabarzee.shtml