Iris Williams to Perform in Hollywood and Palm Springs

Welsh song stylist Iris Williams will make a rare West Coast appearance on Wed., April 13 at 8:30 PM at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, performing her acclaimed show entitled "I Wish You Love," featuring classic American standards by such composers as Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Burton Lane, and others. Music Director Keith Droste will be on piano, with Jeff Stover on bass and Andy Fraga on drums. She will also appear at the Purple Room in Palm Springs on Friday, April 8 at 7:00 PM.

Awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth II, Williams is an international concert and recording star who has performed with Bob Hope and Rosemary Clooney, for President Gerald Ford, the British Royal Family, as well as at The Algonquin's iconic Oak Room, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and most recently at NYC's landmark Birdland Jazz Club.

Stephen Holden, reviewing her in the N.Y. Times, wrote: "Miss Williams has one of the most striking voices in all cabaret, a lush dark contralto with a buzz of a vibrato that is an aural tonic...the sheer beauty of her voice lit a steady emotional fire."

Rex Reed wrote in the N.Y. Observer: "Iris Williams is back, with impeccable taste and elegant phrasing, in a voice that suggests a cross between Marian Anderson and Nina Simone. Astonishing depths of passion that runs the gamut from playful to arty to dreamy.

Candace Leeds of Cabaret Scenes declared, "The stately Welsh singer, Iris Williams, made her Birdland debut ..., performing to an enthusiastic sold-out house. With her low-key charm, elegant presence, and lovely, deep-throated contralto voice, she truly inhabited each of her songs. She had the audience in the palm of her hand throughout the show."

Born in Wales, Ms. Williams is a favorite of Presidents and Royalty. A classically-trained jazz artist, her rendition of "He Was Beautiful" earned a Gold Record in England, led to several albums and launched an international cabaret and concert career. She has been invited to sing at 14 Royal Performances in London and starred in her own BBC TV series, "The Iris Williams Songbook," followed by the specials "Iris Williams Echoes the Life of Mabel Mercer" and "Portread (Portrait)". Now living in New York,

The Catalina Jazz Club is located at 6725 Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. For reservations call 323 466 2210. The Purple Room is located at 1900 E. Palm Canyon Dr. in Palm Springs. The phone is 760-322-4422.

To post a comment, you must register and login.