Catalina Bar & Grill to Present Alexis Gershwin in GERSHWIN SINGS GERSHWIN, 3/22

Catalina Bar & Grill will present singer ALEXIS GERSHWIN, the niece of the iconic American composer and lyricist, GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN, in a 75-minute musical journey and salute to her uncle's music in a show entitled "GERSHWIN SINGS GERSHWIN," backed by The Gershwin Singers & Band, under the musical direction of Steven Applegate, to be presented One Night Only on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 8:30 p.m. at Catalina Bar & Grill; 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (just east of North Highland Avenue); Los Angeles, CA 90028. There is $20 Cover Charge, plus dinner or a two-drink minimum per person. Valet Parking is available.

Alexis Gershwin (of Beverly Hills) says, "It is my privilege to continue the musical legacy my Uncle George and Uncle Ira have left us by bringing their music to new generations. Of course the Gershwin songs are at the top of my list, but I also enjoy singing the music of many other talented composers and lyricists. Great music should be passed down from generation to generation like any of life's precious gifts."

Alexis Gershwin's program will include songs like: "I've Got A Crush On You," "Our Love Is Here To Stay," "The Man I Love" and "Someone to Watch Over Me," to name a few. The Gershwin Singers will be comprised of soprano Sarah Brandon (of Tarzana), tenor Will North (of Lake Balboa) and alto Kara Shaw (of Sherman Oaks). Under the musical direction of Steven Applegate (of Van Nuys), The Gershwin Band will consist of pianist Steve Rawlins (of Marina del Rey), bassist Randy Landis (of Glendale), drummer Bob Leatherbarrow (of Sherman Oaks) and saxophonist
Rusty Higgins (of Long Beach).

Reservations for the show and dinner can be made by calling Catalina Bar & Grill at 323-466-2210, or buy online at www.catalinajazzclub.com. For further information about the performance, please visit the website www.catalinajazzclub.com. To view B-roll footage of Alexis Gershwin singing, please visit https://youtu.be/84j5cj7XQOE
For further information about Alexis Gershwin, please visit www.alexisgershwin.com. Network with Alexis Gershwin at:
https://www.facebook.com/Alexis-Gershwin-70071393411/

The Los Angeles Times has written: "The talent in the Gershwin family did not end with George and Ira Gershwin. Their niece, Alexis Gershwin, has inherited the feeling for the melodic musical line from composer George Gershwin, and a respect for words and phrasing from lyricist Ira Gershwin. Miss Gershwin displayed a voice of unusual beauty. She did credit to the Gershwin songs with the excellent vocal instrument she possesses, and her lucent diction. Miss Gershwin performs with a strong emotional impact, and the fact that she's lovely to look at does not hurt the general appeal of her act."

Former Billboard magazine editor Paul Grein has said, "Alexis Gershwin manages to bring something fresh and new to her uncles' music, she sings with charm and a jazz singer's penchant for idiosyncratic phrasing, an actresses flair for the dramatic and a comedienne's comic sensibility, no small feat for songs that have been recorded hundreds of times."

Alexis Gershwin (Vocalist, "GERSHWIN SINGS GERSHWIN") is the niece of the legendary songwriters George and Ira Gershwin. Born into American musical royalty, singer Alexis Gershwin developed an early awareness of her unique musical heritage. Today she continues to carry on her family's musical legacy and genius by performing her uncle's music, which transcends all time.

Her mother, Frances (Frankie) Gershwin, was a talented dancer and painter, and the only sister of George (Jacob), Ira (Israel) and Arthur Gershwin, and daughter of Rosa (Rose) and Moishe (Morris) Gershwin. Alexis's father, Leopold Godowsky, was a prominent first violinist with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras who later became a major force in the development of color photography. As a co-inventor (with Leopold Mannes) of Kodachrome Color Film Photography, Leopold Godowsky was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.

Growing up in Westport, Connecticut, Alexis was always surrounded by beautiful music and mentored by famous musicians. She continued her formal studies majoring in Liberal Arts at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, which helped her to build a firm foundation for her high standards of song interpretations. While Alexis didn't have the chance to get to know her Uncle George, due to his tragic and untimely passing at the age of 38 of a brain tumor, she enjoyed a loving relationship with her Uncle Ira whom she joined at weekly dinners, and whom occasionally challenged her to a tennis match.

She studied ballet for six years and began vocal training and acting long before she attended Sarah Lawrence College, playing roles in various musical productions. At the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, Alexis studied drama with Sanford Meisner, Charles Conrad and Sidney Pollack. As a young star in summer stock, she performed under the tutelage of the renowned Eva LaGallien at Westport, Connecticut's White Barn Theater. Her national theatrical career comprises of such roles as Madge Owens in "Picnic," Gillian "Gil" Holroyd in "Bell, Book and Candle,"
Nora Helmer in "A Doll's House" and the La Novia - The Bride in "Blood Wedding."

During her 20s, Alexis lived and traveled in Europe - Spain, Italy, Germany and England, where she soon became a celebrated performer in demand to entertain with her live bands at elegant private affairs. One of the highlights of her career has been working with Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell, the legendary American bandleader, songwriter, arranger and record producer who worked with everyone from Little Richard to Lou Rawls. "Bumps" Blackwell was producing an album for Alexis at the time of his passing. Alexis has performed her show, "ALEXIS GERSHWIN LIVE," throughout the United States, including the cities of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Alexis has also been touring with her show, "GERSHWIN SINGS GERSHWIN," a musical journey and salute to her uncle's music.

A critically acclaimed singer in her own right, Alexis has toured extensively worldwide, performing in prestigious venues both with orchestras and with some of the best session players. Alexis Gershwin has performed at the Metropolitan Room in New York City; Suncoast Casino with the Harry James Orchestra in Las Vegas, NV; Brevard Concert Center in Jacksonville, FL; King Center For The Performing Arts in Melbourne, FL; Stoneham Theatre in Boston, MA; the Palm Springs Convention Center; and in Los Angeles, CA at Catalina Bar & Grill, The Lion Bar and Grill, Lunaria Jazz Club, Jazz at the Silver Screen at the Sheraton Universal, Perino's and at Vine Street Bar & Grill.

As the first and only living Gershwin to sing Gershwin, Alexis Gershwin's mission is to bring a unique perspective to the interpretations of her uncle's distinguished music to new generations, and to attempt to bring back beautiful romantic music. A lifelong ambassador to the House of Gershwin, nothing means more to Alexis, as an artist, than compellingly interpreting her uncles' signature union of music and lyrics.

A resident of Beverly Hills, CA, Alexis Gershwin is the mother of two sons, Chris and Brian. She oversees her own recording label, Rhapsody Records and Alexis Gershwin Productions. She has recorded three CD albums: "Alexis Gershwin - Gershwin Sings Gershwin" (Rhapsody Records); "Alexis Gershwin - Long Ago And Far Away" (Rhapsody Records) and "Alexis Gershwin - I'll Take Romance" (American Productions Group, Inc.), as well as a single dance mix, "Alexis Gershwin - The Man I Love."

In addition to her unwavering dedication to preserving and promoting her family's musical legacy, Alexis Gershwin also has another equal and lifelong cause as an advocate who supports animal rights organizations like People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Last Chance for Animals, Adopt A Pet - Animal Rescue, Actors and Others for Animals, and many more. To learn more about Alexis Gershwin, please visit the website www.alexisgershwin.com.

Steven Applegate (Music Director, "GERSHWIN SINGS GERSHWIN") is an award-winning Musical Director, Conductor and Pianist. He has worked on concert stages around the world. His theatrical endeavors have included the entire theatre repertoire, which has taken him to every part of the country and abroad. Most recently he was nominated for an Ovation Award for his Musical Direction of "Jekyll and Hyde" for Cabrillo Music Theatre, where he also helmed productions of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "42nd Street." His professional career began at the age of 20 with his performance in a tour of "Godspell," and it's been non-stop since then. Applegate has been the Guest Conductor for the Dallas Symphony and Denver Symphony. He has worked with such notables as Christina Aguilera, John Raitt, Idina Menzell, Sandy Duncan, Shirley Jones, Maureen McGovern, Cybil Shepherd, Jack Jones, Lorna Luft, Sally Struthers, Ken Page, Carol Channing, Susan Watson and Adrianne Barbeau. Applegate is also a very sough-after record producer and arranger/conductor.

Steve Rawlins (Pianist, "GERSHWIN SINGS GERSHWIN") is a Los Angeles based composer/arranger/pianist who has arranged music for the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Olympics, The Super Bowl and Disneyland - Circus On Parade, as well as for artists including: Benny Goodman, Bette Midler (Las Vegas and National Tours), Smokey Robinson, Nancy Sinatra, Sam Harris, Jim Henson & The Muppets, Chaka Kahn, Steve March-Tormé and Carol Channing. He's written music of advertisers such as Kellogg's, Libby's, Mattel, SONY, Carnation, Bob's Big Boy, Sears and Coors Beer, as well as for Crystal, Princess and Holland American Cruise Lines. Rawlins is the author of numerous published music books including: "Pro Charts for Female Singers," "21 Bebop Exercises" and "The Singer's Book of Jazz Standards." Rawlins has also performed at jazz clubs and festivals around the world as well as at Carnegie Hall and The John K. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

George & Ira Gershwin (World Renowned American Composer & Lyricist) will always be remembered as the songwriting team whose voice was synonymous with the sounds and style of the Jazz Age. By the time their 1924 Broadway hit, "Lady, Be Good!," George has worked with lyricist Buddy DeSylva on a series of revues, "George White's Scandals," while Ira enjoyed success with composer Vincent Youmans on "Two Little Girls in Blue." But from 1924 until George's death in 1937, the brothers wrote almost exclusively with each other, composing over two-dozen scores for Broadway and Hollywood. Though they had many individual song hits, their greatest achievement may have been the elevation of musical comedy to an American art form. With their trilogy of political satires - "Strike Up The Band," the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Of Thee I Sing," and its sequel, "Let 'Em Eat Cake" (all three written with playwrights George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind) - they helped raise popular musical theatre to a new level of sophistication. Their now-classic folk opera, "Porgy and Bess" (co-written with DuBose Heyward), is constantly revived in opera houses and theatres throughout the world. Concurrently the Gershwins' musical theatre and film work, George attained great success in the concert arena as a piano virtuoso, conductor and composer of such celebrated works as "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris" and the "Concerto in F." Among the Gershwin brother's treasure trove of songs they have left us are: "My One and Only," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," "The Man I Love," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "A Foggy Day," "Strike Up The Band," "I've Got a Crush on You," "Of Thee I Sing (Baby)," "Our Love Is Here To Stay," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "Embraceable You," "Fascinating Rhythm," "I Got Ryhthm," and "S'wonderful," to name a few.

Upon George's tragic and untimely death on July 11, 1937 at the age of 38 of a brain tumor, his brother Ira continued to work in film and theatre with collaborators ranging from Kurt Weill and Jerome Kern to Harold Arlen, Burt Lane and Vernon Duke and Harry Warren, among others, writing such standards as "Long Ago (and Far Away)" and "The Man That Got Away," both nominated for Academy Awards. Ira's book, "Lyrics on Several Occasions" was published to critical acclaim in 1959; it was a unique selection of his lyrics, accompanied by his annotations, observations, and anecdotes. In addition to his own career, Ira attended to the details of his brother's estate and the Gershwin legacy. He annotated their manuscripts and consigned to the Library of Congress all the materials that pertained to their careers. In 1983, at the age of 86, Ira died in his Beverly Hills home. Today, the Gershwin catalog has been taken up by a younger generation who have delighted in vintage contemporary recordings, revivals and the "new" Gershwin musical, "My One and Only" (1983) and the 1992 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, "Crazy For You." The United States Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the George and Ira Gershwin in 1985 (only the third time that songwriters had been so honored), and in 2007, the Library of Congress instituted the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. To learn more about George and Ira Gershwin, please visit www.gershwin.com.

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