Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill, Jazz, Etc. Hosts Ariana Savalas' SOPHISTICATED LADY CD Release Party Tonight

Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill Jazz...Etc. will present ARIANA SAVALAS - "SOPHISTICATED LADY," a CD Release and Birthday Celebration, Starring singer Ariana Savalas, with Guest Artist Pianist, Corky Hale for a One Night Only engagement tonight, January 9, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill, Jazz, Etc.; 2930 N. Beverly Glen Circle; Bel Air, Calif. Savalas will be accompanied by Joe Bagg, Piano; Steve Venz, Bass; Andy Sanesi, Drums and Steve Cottor, Guitar. Savalas will not only be celebrating her birthday that night, but the completion of her first jazz album entitled "SOPHISTICATED LADY." The concert will be followed by a CD signing.

Ariana Savalas, an American Jazz Fusion vocalist, actress, songwriter and daughter of the late actor, Telly Savalas, will perform some of her original songs, including: "One Man Show," "Shotgun," "Too Late" and "Perfect Man," along with popular standards. In addition, she will share some inside showbiz family stories. There is no Cover Charge. Food must be ordered to have reserved tables. For dinner reservations and further information, call 310-474-9400 or visit online at www.vibratogrilljazz.com. Dinner is available starting at 5:30 p.m. Free Valet Parking is available.

Ariana Savalas began her career as a Jazz singer in the Los Angeles cabaret scene then quickly advanced to a national stage, performing at venues including the New York Friars' Club, and at events such as the annual Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational and Smokey Robinson's Foundation Gala at the Waldorf Astoria. Savalas penned her debut single, "Perfect Man," in January 2012, produced by Mark Portmann, which also features guitarist Tim Pierce and bassist Paul Bushnell. The music video for the song features "Grey's Anatomy's" Eric Dane. Since the release of the video, it has been featured nationally on E! News and Music Choice, as well as Young Hollywood, USA Today, AOL Music, Yahoo Music, TMZ, and TV Guide.

The youngest daughter of legendary Emmy Awardâ-winning ("Kojak") and Academy Award-nominated ("Birdman of Alcatraz") actor Telly Savalas and inventor Julie Savalas, Ariana's diverse background includes attending a convent high school, touring Europe as a pop singer in her teens, studying Shakespeare and acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and attending Penn State University majoring in Criminology. Barely out of school, she won the title role of Miriam Shafer in the art-house feature film, "Miriam," a true story of a Lithuanian Holocaust survivor. Her most recent film is "Akrasia" by Polish director Xavier Tatarkiewicz, is due out next year.

Savalas has appeared at some of the nation's poshest clubs and special events including Herb Alpert's Vibrato in Beverly Hills, Birdland Jazz Club, Metropolitan Room, West Palm Beach's Royal Room, Palm Springs' McCallum Theater and at Chicago's Signature Room at the 95th in the John Hancock Building and Akoo Studios. She has also performed live on the nationally televised FOX Network's "American Newsroom," CW/WGN's "Superstation's MidDay Show," Las Vegas' "FOX 5 MORE Show," Chicago's ABC 7, the CBS Radio Network, the "Barry Z Show" and New York's "Joey Reynolds Show" on WOR Radio.

Following in her father's footsteps, she also had a guest appearance on one of television's top cop shows CBS' "Criminal Minds." Ariana also appears on famed jazz harp player/pianist (and wife of Mike Stoller of renowned songwriting team Leiber & Stoller) Corky Hale's latest CD release, "Corky Hale...And Friends - I'm Glad There Is You," singing her rendition of the song, "I See Your Face."

The man known to a generation of television viewers as "Kojak" died in 1994 when Ariana was just seven, but his legacy lives on through his talented daughter. After seeing Ariana's cabaret, Variety's late Army Archerd lovingly wrote, "As Telly would have said, 'Who loves ya, baby?' They all did." To learn more about Ariana Savalas, visit www.facebook.com/arianasavalas.

Corky Hale (Guest Artist Pianist) was born in a small mid-western farm town and started taking piano lessons at age three. At age seven, while vacationing with her family in Florida, Hale was heard in the lobby of her hotel picking out tunes on the piano by House bandleader, Horace Heidt. Heidt had a little band jacket made for her and featured her for the next few weeks in the evening show. She began studying piano at Chicago Conservatory at the age of seven, and harp at the age of eight.

She has performed at The White House with Tony Bennett, soloed with Barbra Streisand in Central Park and at the Hollywood Bowl, and performed with Björk on her MTV Special in London. Hale has also appeared with George Michael at London's Royal Albert Hall and Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium. She has played harp for Liberace (on his television show and at Madison Square Garden) and Judy Collins, piano for Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé and Peggy Lee, and sung with the bands of Harry James, Ray Anthony and Jerry Gray.

Hale's sold-out performances at the Oak Room at the Algonquin in New York, Davenport's in Chicago, the Cinegrill and Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill Jazz...etc. in Los Angeles, the Plush Room in San Francisco, and Pizza On The Park in London have led Los Angeles Times' jazz reviewer Don Heckman to observe that Hale is "more than a triple threat." The San Francisco Examiner's Philip Ellwood noted her performances are "of cyclonic proportions." She has also been seen and heard on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson."

Hale's harp, piano and vocals can be heard on her five albums "CORKY!" (www.cdbaby.com and www.amazon.com); "Have Yourself A Jazzy Little Christmas - Corky Hale" (www.cdbaby.com and www.amazon.com); "Corky Hale Plays George Gershwin & Vernon Duke" (www.cdbaby.com); "Corky Hale - Harp Beat" and on her most recent CD, "Corky Hale...And Friends - I'm Glad There Is You." To learn more, visit www.corkyhale.com.

Photo credit: Jeff Xander

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