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JUNE
BISANTZ |
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mwe3.com
presents an interview with
June
Bisantz: When I recorded the first Chet Baker Project CD, my goal
was to learn something new about singing. I found something of myself
- as yet unexpressed - in Chet's quiet, effortless singing style,
and I studied him for quite a while before going into the studio.
I loved what I learned from the process, and I just wasn’t finished.
I tried to move on to another project, but I kept getting pulled back
and eventually I gave in and we did Volume 2 . “It’s Always
You” gave me an opportunity to explore some of the lesser-known
Baker tunes, some with unexpected instrumentation - like the celeste
in “My Ideal”, or the piano, guitar, voice trio of “Everything
Depends On You” and “Born to be Blue". Most of all
it gave me the opportunity to continue working with Chet Baker as
a musical mentor. I worked with the same musicians on both CDs,and
we have now achieved a nice cool-jazz Chet Baker-ness together. June Bisantz: I’ve been lucky with this project. Chet Baker fans have embraced both CDs, and reviewers have said very nice things - for which I am extremely grateful. People seem to understand what I’m trying to do, which for an artist is a rare and wonderful thing! As you know, the CD cover is a famous photo of Chet Baker in the studio, with me photo-shopped into the scene. In order to use that photo, taken by Bob Willoughby, I had to contact both Bob Willoughby’s and Chet Baker’s sons for permission. I sent them the recording along with the image as I wanted to use it, and they were both very gracious and enthusiastic about the music... and the image. I took that as a huge compliment and endorsement of the project! mwe3:
What do you have planned musically moving forward?
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Diving
deep into the songbook of American jazz trumpet and vocal legend Chet
Baker, singer June Bisantz released her album It’s
Always You: June Bisantz Sings Chet Baker Vol. 2 in 2015.
Backed up by a fine band and tasty string players, including Alex
Nakhimovsky (piano), Norman Johnson (guitar), Ben Belillo
(drums) and others, June uses her cool, well-paced jazz voice
in the spirit of Astrid Gilberto and in doing so, she’s been
called a modern day jazz chanteuse. Baker recorded much of his music
in the 1950s and 1960s and he was also acclaimed as a singer and songwriter
who covered music by legends like Mel Torme, Jimmy Van Heusen, Cole
Porter and more. Ms. Bisantz' second Baker tribute album, It’s
Always You also features a Baker original called "I
Know That I'll Lose You". Speaking to mwe3.com about her latest
Chet Baker tribute CD, June explains, 'When
I recorded the first Chet Baker Project CD, my goal was to learn something
new about singing. I found something of myself - as yet unexpressed
- in Chet's quiet, effortless singing style, and I studied him for
quite a while before going into the studio. I loved what I learned
from the process, and I just wasn’t finished,'
adding 'I’ve
been lucky with this project. Chet Baker fans have embraced both CDs,
and reviewers have said very nice things - for which I am extremely
grateful. People seem to understand what I’m trying to do, which
for an artist is a rare and wonderful thing!' Despite living a
hard and tragic life, having passed away in 1988, Chet Baker’s
musical legacy lives on with the June Bisantz album release of It’s
Always You. 
