Donna Vivino, the rising Broadway and vocal star, will celebrate the release of Beautiful Dreamer - her debut solo album from Ghostlight Records - with a special performance at 54 Below on Thursday, January 23 at 9:30 PM. The veteran of Broadway's "Wicked" and "Les Miserables," Vivino will reprise her solo concert "It's Not Easy Being Green" with special numbers from the new recording. She will be joined by Musical Director Ken Levinsky on piano and Jeff Ganz on bass. The album was released in stores and via online outlets December 10, 2013.
Beautiful Dreamer weaves 13 diverse songs into a thematically-cohesive collection from Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley. Jerry Vivino - the veteran New York musician and longtime member of the Conan O'Brien house band - leads the disc's all-star jazz quartet and serves as producer. To order Beautiful Dreamer, please visit www.sh-k-boom.com/donnavivino-beautifuldreamer.
Beautiful Dreamer offers uniquely sophisticated takes on favorites from the Broadway stage and the Great American songbook. Theater fans in particular will appreciate her bold reinvention of "Castle on A Cloud" from LES MISERABLES - which she introduced at age 8 as Broadway's original Young Cosette - into a slow-burning blues number. Other highlights include her stirring mid-tempo opener "When Day Is Done" and an ingenious cool-jazz arrangement of the iconic standard "Over the Rainbow." Her slowed-down interpretation of "Rainy Days and Mondays" rivals the Carpenters original for its poignancy and sensitivity. The closing title track - sung to her as a child by her beloved late grandmother - transforms the turn-of-the-century classic into a modern lullaby. She also personalizes works by Rodgers and Hart ("My Romance") George and Ira Gershwin ("They Can't Take That Away From Me"), Antônio Carlos Jobim ("How Insensitive") and other important songwriters.
The album has arrangements by Mitchel Forman and features Jerry Vivino on flute, alto flute, tenor saxophone and clarinet; Mitchel Formanon piano and keyboards; Kevin Axt on upright bass and acoustic bass guitar; and Ray Brinker on drums and percussion.
Donna Vivino starred for two years as Elphaba in the First National Tour of Wicked and performed the role on Broadway. Her other Broadway credits include Hairspray, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Saturday Night Fever and LES MISERABLES. Her film and television credits include A Gifted Man, "The Sopranos," "Everyday People," "Married to It" and "All My Children" as Young Erica Kane. She is currently a regular on the hit web series "Submissions Only." You can visit her online at www.DonnaVivino.com and follow her on Twitter @DonnaVivino.
JERRY VIVINO can be seen nightly on TBS's "Conan" with the Basic Cable Band. He was part of the Max Weinberg 7 on NBC-TV's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" since the show's premiere in 1993. Jerry has performed and recorded alongside major music stars such as Ricky Martin, Bruce Springsteen, Marc Anthony, Bette Midler, James Taylor, Bon Jovi, Paul Shaffer, Frankie Valli, JAmes Brown, Phoebe Snow, Donald Fagen, Dr. John, Wynton Marsalis and Keely Smith, to name just a few. Jerry has played on motion picture soundtracks, including Maid in Manhattan, The Tao of Steve and Camp, as well as in the pit of many Broadway musicals such as Annie, A Chorus Line, Cats, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Leader of the Pack, Starlight Express and Grease. He has released several albums as a band leader, most recently Walkin' with the Wazmo. Jerry attended the Manhattan School of Music. More information is at www.JerryVivino.com.
Donna Vivino will perform "It's Not Easy Being Green" at 54 Below (254 West 54th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue) onThursday, January 23 at 9:30 PM. The cover charge ranges from $25-35, with an additional $25 food and beverage minimum. Please visit 54Below.com for additional information.
"BEAUTIFUL DREAMER" TRACK LIST
1. When Day Is Done (Robert Katscher / B.G. DeSylva)
2. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart)
3. Over The Rainbow (Harold Arlen / E.Y. Harburg)
4. When She Loved Me (Randy Newman)
5. Castle On A Cloud (Herbert Kretzmer / Alain Boublil / Claude-Michel Schönberg / Jean-MarcNatel)
6. Rainy Days and Mondays (Roger S. Nichols / Paul Williams)
7. How Insensitive (Antônio Carlos Jobim /Norman Gimbel / Vinicius De Moraes)
8. Never Never Land (Jule Styne / Betty Comden /Adolph Green)
9. My Romance (Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart)
10. I Wish You Love (Charles Trenet)
11. Once You Lose Your Heart (Noel Gay)
12. They Can't Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin)
13. Beautiful Dreamer (Stephen Foster)
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