"Every track from the rhythmic ‘NY Cab Ride’ and restless ‘4 Wheel Drive’ to the brooding ‘Mae’s Song’ has a terrific hook but it’s the way Mason switches tempo and moods that makes ALH great fun." -- Diva Magazine
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Janette Mason has just been commissioned to write the score for MEDB's new feature film, The Calling, starring Brenda Blethyn, Susannah York and Rita Tushingham. For more info about the film, visit www.medbfilms.com.
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Janette Mason is a band leader, keyboard virtuoso and gifted improviser who has been a standout talent in Jazz, Pop, Indie Rock and World Music. From her high profile gigs throughout the 90s as keyboardist /side (wo)man recording and touring with artists like Seal, Oasis, k.d.Lang and Robert Wyatt, she spent a number of years on camera as Music Director for Jonathan Ross and Antoine De Caunnes on their hit British television chat shows.
Janette's skills as a composer led her to write music for Sex and the City, The Drew Carey Show and most recently an incredible score for the 2008 feature film Ruby Blue starring Bob Hoskins.
Din and Tonic, her hit debut album of original Jazz compositions, was shortlisted by Guardian Jazz Critic John Fordham as a contender for "Jazz Album of the Year.”
January 2009 brings the release of her eagerly awaited second album Alien Left Hand featuring Julian Siegel, Tom Arthurs, Lea DeLaria, Dudley Phillips and New York Drummer Josh Guinta. On it she showcases her formidable talents as a composer, pianist, arranger and bandleader.
Janette grew up in a musical family, and was inspired by her mother-- a professional jazz pianist and vibes player for big bands of the 50s and who later went on to lead her own quartet, playing Hammond Organ.
Janette’s began studying classical piano at the age of five, and although she showed great musical ability she was never happy playing the same piece the same way twice. It was around this time that she began experimenting with improvisation and composition. A chance encounter with a Television series featuring the Oscar Peterson Trio cemented her iconoclastic wildly original ear and flair for dynamic, surprising music, firmly anchored in her incredible talent and diverse musical experience.
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LEA DELARIA: THE LIVE SMOKE SESSIONS
Arranged and Produced by Janette Mason
September 2008 welcomes the release of Lea DeLaria's latest jazz album, The Live Smoke Sessions, arranged and produced by Janette Mason. The album was recorded live at the renowned Smoke Jazz and Supper Club in New York City and features musicians Seamus Blake (sax), Gil Goldstein (piano), Mary Ann McSweeney (bass) and Josh Giunta (drums), along with guest vocalist Ian Shaw. CD release parties for The Live Smoke Sessions will be held at Smoke on 29 September and 6 October 2008.
The following is a review of The Live Smoke Sessions:
Lea DeLaria: The Live Smoke Sessions (Ghostlight)
"Plain and simple, Lea DeLaria is here to put the sass back in standards. No gentile readings or blemish free interpretations for a gutsy singer who clearly loves the great old songs but isn't afraid to razz them up. It's all fair game for this expressive go-getter, be it Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, or any other canonical popular composer.
And on this razor sharp live recording DeLaria is in her true element, feeding off energy and giving back twofold to an in-sync audience who appreciate that they're not being handed the same old tired line from this week's new Diana Krall.
It doesn't hurt that DeLaria is able to back up her go get 'em attitude with first rate vocal chops. And a sterling support team, including saxophonist Seamus Blake and the superb pianist Gil Goldstein, only notches things up a few more levels. Given DeLaria 's vital treatments, such chestnuts as "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "Love for Sale" become fresh again, while a ringer like "Puff" from the Michael John LaChiusa musical Little Fish lays claim for its own elevated status.
What this live document unquestionably reveals is that DeLaria's tart and tangy stage persona will never obscure her died-in-the-wool vocal artistry."
--Barnes and Noble
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Janette has also collaborated as arranger and performer on the following albums:
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Also from Janette Mason:
Totally Interactive Keyboard Bible
Authors:
Steve Lodder, Janette Mason, Gordon Reid, Paul Ward
The Totally Interactive Keyboard Bible is an unrivalled four-part multimedia package for anyone interested in playing keyboards. The four interrelated components - a DVD, a reference book, a tutor book, and a CD, all housed in a durable hard cover that converts into a reading stand for ease of use – take the reader through a range of styles, including blues, jazz, soul, rock, and dance.
The Totally Interactive Keyboard Bible is available for purchase at
www.amazon.co.uk.
