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| Marlene VerPlanck and Shaynee Rainbolt Light Up the Stage Marlene Verplanck And Shaynee Rainbolt, two of New York's favorite vocalists, take the stage at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street between Fifth & Sixth Avenues, in May. Marlene celebrates her 20th CD, Once There Was A Moon, on May 5, 12 and 26 at 7:00 pm. Shaynee continues the celebration of her award-winning CD Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt Sings Russell Garcia with Russell Garcia & His Four-Trombone Band on May 7 at 9:45pm. Catch Marlene with Ted Firth (piano), Steve LaSpina (bass) and Rich DeRosa (drums). Throughout her career, Marlene has stuck to her guns, paying loving care to the great standards and new songs from our finest composers. Millions of people first heard her crystal-clear voice anonymously, on radio and television, when she touted the merits of dozens of commercial products, including "Mm-mm good, that's what Campbell's Soups are ..." However, she got her start in the big-band business, as a young vocalist with Charlie Spivak and Tex Beneke. During a brief stint with the last Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, she met her future husband, musician-arranger Billy VerPlanck. Today, Marlene performs across North America and Europe, featuring music from her 20 critically-acclaimed solo CDs. The albums include exciting arrangements scored by Billy, with accompaniment by many of America's finest musicians. In addition to her Audiophile albums, Marlene joined Mel Tormé and Julius LaRosa with the Glenn Miller Orchestra on "In a Digital Mood, " the first big-band CD to go gold. Also, at the personal request of Richard Adler, the renowned composer of "Damn Yankees" and "The Pajama Game, " Marlene recorded some of Adler's most memorable music on "You Gotta Have Heart: The Songs of Richard Adler." Joining Shaynee at The Metropolitan Room are Barry Levitt (piano), Tom Hubbard (bass), Ray Marchica (drums) and the four trombonists John Allred, Nate Mayland, Isrea Buttler and George Flynn. With two solo albums behind her – "From This Moment On" and "At Home" – Shaynee Rainbolt is a gifted storyteller who is equally at home singing jazz standards or Broadway tunes. A West Coast transplant, Shaynee moved to New York two years ago. Since planting roots in Manhattan, she has performed at Iridium, Jazz Standard, The Highline Ballroom, Iridium, The River Room of Harlem and Charley O's. Before changing coasts, she was a staple on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene, working at The Empire Plush Room, Jazz at Pearl's, The Purple Onion and the new Rrazz Room in the Hotel Nikko. She also has taken the stage in Los Angeles, New Orleans, London and other cities around the globe. Always an innovator, Russell Garcia is a living legend, and his music deserves to be heard by a new generation. His unexpected and groundbreaking Four-Trombone Band with famed brass players Frank Rosolino, Tommy Pederson, Maynard Ferguson and Herbie Harper led him to use this instrumentation to great success in collaborations with singers Frances Faye and Anita O'Day, and he now brings it back to us in this new collaboration with Shaynee Rainbolt. Having arranged for Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Mel Tormé, Julie London, Oscar Peterson, Stan Kenton, Andy Williams, Judy Garland, Henry Mancini and numerous others, Russell has chosen to entrust his originals to Shaynee, one of today's rising jazz singers. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |