Jessica Molaskey to Sing PORTRAITS OF JONI at Birdland

Jessica Molaskey, the acclaimed actress and singer, will present the concert Portraits of Joni - to celebrate the new album from Ghostlight Deluxe - at Birdland Jazz Club (315 West 44th Street in New York) on Monday, September 18 at 7:00 PM.

The evening will feature John Pizzarelli on vocals and guitar, Madeleine Pizzarelli on vocals and guitar, Mike Karn on bass, Konrad Pazkudzki on piano and Andy Watson on drums.

Featuring Molaskey's distinctly innovative interpretations, this album mixes elements of jazz, pop, folk and Americana into a uniquely powerful and poignant celebration of the iconic songwriter, Joni Mitchell. Album guest stars include Jazz luminaries Larry Goldings, Randy Brecker, Harry Allen and John Pizzarelli.

Ms. Molaskey says, "I was lucky enough to assemble a troupe of amazing American Jazz and Brazilian musicians to help me to interpret these remarkable songs in my own vernacular. This evening at Birdland is a celebration of the launching of this album. As someone who has made a living as an actor for decades, these songs have always called out to me. These portraits are like musical one act plays. I wanted to attempt to step into these characters' shoes and try to tell their stories. I do believe, as Joni says, that 'songs are like tattoos.' These songs have been indelibly etched in my heart and soul forever. I can't wait to share what we have created...and I am bringing some very special guests."

Since Portraits of Joni was released this summer, it has received stellar reviews around the country. The recording hit two Billboard charts as well, reaching #23 on the "Top Current Jazz Album" and #34 on the "Top Jazz Album" rankings.

Portraits of Joni, which launched Ghostlight Deluxe as a special new label imprint of Ghostlight Records, is produced by Jessica Molaskey, with John Pizzarelli serving as co-producer and Rob and Marcie Orley as executive producers. Reflecting on Portraits of Joni, Jessica says, "Joni Mitchell writes songs like a painter. One brush stroke here, another stroke there and you have a portrait of a fully realized soul. I continue to be amazed by how she can create a whole person with her words and music." Album highlights include contemplative takes on many of Mitchell's most popular compositions such as "A Case of You," "Chelsea Morning" and the iconic "Both Sides Now," in addition to sly jazz-laced versions of "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" and "Raised on Robbery." For more information on the recording, visit www.sh-k-boom.com/jessica-molaskey-portraits-of-joni.

Her husband John Pizzarelli, who released his own album Sinatra & Jobim @ 50 this summer, is featured in a special combination of Mitchell's eternal "Circle Game" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's 'Waters of March." The classic "Little Green" is a vocal duet with their daughter Madeleine Pizzarelli. "All I Want " is presented as a tour-de-force piano solo by Larry Goldings, merged with Jessica's haunting vocal on "Blue."

Jessica Molaskey is a veteran of a dozen Broadway shows including the revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George, which was nominated for nine Tony Awards. She appeared in A Man of No Importance at Lincoln Center, Parade (directed by Hal Prince), Dream, Tommy, Crazy for You, Les Misérables, City of Angels, Chess, Cats and Oklahoma! She most recently played the role of Marie in the City Center Encores! production of The Most Happy Fella. Off Broadway credits include Songs For A New World, Dream True, Wise Guys (Stephen Sondheim, Sam Mendes), and Weird Romance (All Original Cast Recordings).

Ms. Molaskey has five critically-acclaimed solo albums and has performed in concert from Lincoln Center to Carnegie and Disney Hall to the Montreal and Monterey Jazz festivals. For the past decade she and John Pizzarelli have enjoyed a two-month, sold-out engagement at the Café Carlyle in New York.

She has written songs for a dozen recordings, including the "Greed," part of a commission for Audra McDonald's Seven Deadly Sins at Carnegie Hall and "Cradle and All" with Ricky Ian Gordon for PBS American Songbook. Jessica recently played opposite Ms. McDonald, as Sister Bertha in the NBC-TV version of The Sound Of Music Live! She and her husband host the weekly radio show "Radio Deluxe," which airs in sixty cities around the United States and in Canada.

"PORTRAITS OF JONI" TRACK LIST:

1. Help Me

2. Dreamland / Carey

3. A Case of You

4. The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines

5. Marcie

6. In France They Kiss On Main Street

7. The Last Time I Saw Richard

8. Raised on Robbery

9. Little Green

10. Circle Game / Waters of March

11. All I Want / Blue

12. Chelsea Morning / Aquelas Coisas Todas

13. Both Sides Now

14. Big Yellow Taxi

Ghostlight Records has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings - building a library of over 150 records in the last 17 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway's brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight has won three Grammy Awards (for The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful - The Carole King Musical) and is a frequent nominee, most recently for the OBCR of the 2016 "Best Musical" Tony Award nominee Bright Star by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. Other notable recent releases include the 2017 "Best Musical Revival" Tony Award nominee Falsettos, the 2016 "Best Musical Revival" Tony Award nominee She Loves Me, the 2015 "Best Musical" Tony Award nominee Something Rotten! and Disney's Newsies. The label has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Billy Porter, Sutton Foster, Adam Pascal, Lea DeLaria, Kelli O'Hara, Ben Vereen, Christine Ebersole and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theatre composers with their extensive relationships with Michael John LaChiusa and Michael Friedman, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt, Pasek & Paul, Joe Iconis, Ryan Scott Oliver, Shaina Taub, Dave Malloy, Kerrigan & Lowdermilk and Adam Gwon. The label recently created a new joint publishing venture with Razor & Tie to represent songwriters that fuse theatrical and pop music. Sh-K-Boom Entertainment is a producer of the acclaimed film version of The Last Five Years, written and directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. www.sh-k-boom.com

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