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CORKY HALE…AND FRIENDS- I'M GLAD THERE IS YOU CD Available For Valentines Day

By: Feb. 02, 2010
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Give the gift of music this Valentine's Day with the perfect Valentine's gift for that someone special in your life - the critically acclaimed CD, "Corky Hale...AND FRIENDS - I'M GLAD THERE IS YOU," featuring the world renowned Jazz pianist, harpist and singer, Corky Hale, along with vocalists Sally Kellerman, Freda Payne, Ariana Savalas, Tricia Tahara and Brenna Whitaker.

Produced by Corky Hale Productions, in association with producer Jeff Lass of Palisades Records, the new CD features 11 romantic ballads from the Great American Songbook. The performers are backed by a rhythm section including Corky Hale - Piano, Harp and Vocals; Lorca Hart, Drums; David Hocker, Drums and Steve Venz, Bass. The album is engineered by James Barth, with additional engineering and mastering provided by Alex Todorov.

Rob Lester of Cabaret Scenes Magazine wrote: "Hail to Hale! Here comes class and elegance, cloaked in silk. Imagine: eleven vocal solos by six thoughtful female vocalists sounding in love with the classic songs they're singing. They luxuriate in them, lyrics seem to be in-the-moment thoughts. It's glorious. Accompanying them, on harp or piano, as they build something beautiful together phrase by phrase, with much simpatico style is masterful Corky Hale. Singing three tracks herself, she radiates the delight of discovered feelings, bursting with bliss."

Jonathan Widrow of Music Connection Magazine wrote: "The veteran harpist, pianist and singer, Corky Hale, whose generation spanning Résumé includes Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and George Michael, takes a charmingly imaginative stroll on this subtly charming set. Alternating between harp and piano or light trio accompaniment, Hale complements her nicely rendered lead vocal tracks with stunningly beautiful guest spots by a unique array of emotionally equipped female vocalists."

Tracks on the CD include: If I Should Lose You (Robin-Rainger) - Brenna Whitaker; My Romance (Rodgers & Hart) - Tricia Tahara; The More I See You (Mack Gordon/Harry Warren) - Corky Hale; I've Got A Crush On You (George & Ira Gershwin) - Sally Kellerman; I See Your Face Before Me (Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz) - Ariana Savalas; You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me (Warren/Dubin) - Corky Hale; Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair (Anonymous) - Freda Payne; I'm Glad There Is You (Paul Madeira/Jimmy Dorsey) - Tricia Tahara; Like Someone In Love (Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke - Corky Hale; Where or When (Rodgers & Hart) - Brenna Whitaker; Alfie (Bacharach & David) - Freda Payne. Total Running Time of the album: 50 minutes.

The new CD is available at www.cdbaby.com and www.amazon.com. For more information, please visit the website, www.corkyhale.com.

Corky Hale (Pianist, Harpist and Singer) was born in a small mid-western farm town and started 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 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 DC's RFK Stadium. She has played harp for Liberace, piano for Billie Holiday and Mel Tormé, and has sung with the bands of Harry James, Ray Anthony, and Jerry Gray. Hale's harp, piano and vocals can be heard on her three albums "CORKY!;" "Have Yourself A Jazzy Little Christmas;" and her current CD "Corky Hale and Friends...I'm Glad There Is You." Corky Hale's CDs are available at www.cdbaby.com and www.amazon.com.

Her sold-out performances at the Oak Room at the Algonquin in New York, Davenport's in Chicago, the Cinegrill and Herb Albert's Vibrato Grill Jazz...etc. in Los Angeles, the Plush Room in San Francisco, Pizza On The Park in London, Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells, CA have led Los Angeles Times to observe that Hale is "more than a triple threat," and the San Francisco Examiner noted her performances are "of cyclonic proportions."

Hale produced "Give ‘em Hell Harry," starring Jason Alexander at the Tiffany Theatre in Los Angeles in 1992. Since 2000 Hale has produced and performed her star-studded show "Corky Hale and Friends: From Tin Pan Alley to Beverly Hills," at the Beverly Hills Civic Center.

In March 2003 her "Salute To Hollywood Songwriters" opened the newly restored Ferry Building at a Gala for San Francisco's "Raising Hope" charity, and in 2002 this show opened the 25th Anniversary Season of the 1,000-seat La Mirada Theatre.

In that same year Hale's musical "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" broke Box Office records at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Florida. She also produced 1998's "Lullaby Of Broadway" at the Tiffany Theatre in West Hollywood, voted one of the "10 Best Shows" of the year by the Los Angeles Times. Later a concert version of the show starring Sally Kellerman was presented at the University of Judaism. She is currently preparing a new version of the production, retitled "I Only Have Eyes For You."

On November 22, 2007, Corky Hale made her debut at Carnegie Hall as a Piano Soloist with the New York Pops Orchestra, under the baton of Guest Conductor, Barry Levitt.

In 2008 she appeared at the Metropolitan Room in New York and produced a Tribute to Sammy Cahn at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills. In 2009 she appeared at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill Jazz...etc. in Los Angeles, selling it out for the third time, after multiple previous appearances there.

In December 2009 - January 2010, she produced a Sold Out, Standing Room Only Revival of Leiber & Stoller's Smokey Joe's Café at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, which received rave reviews, including a Critics Choice in the Los Angeles Times. The same production was also nominated for 10 Ovation Awards in 2009, receiving the most nominations of any single theatrical show produced in Los Angeles during that year. Currently discussions are underway for another National Tour of the Revival of the show.

Hale is a financial of the documentary film, "The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," which is presently receiving enthusiastic critical acclaim and cinematic awards around the country. In March 2010 she will be one of the hosts of a fundraising event for the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project entitled, "An Evening with Gloria Steinem."

In addition to her musical accomplishments, Hale jokingly considers herself the ultimate cook-housewife. She has been happily married for 39 years to songwriter Mike Stoller of the team Leiber & Stoller, whose show Smokey Joe's Café broke the record as the longest running musical revue in Broadway history.

Hale serves on the national advisory board of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), the national advisory board of Planned Parenthood and the California board of the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP). She and her husband are strong advocates of the Southern Poverty Law Center and serve on the board of the National Coalition to Ban Gun Violence. To learn more about Corky Hale, please visit www.corkyhale.com.



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