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Rebecca Zapen
Folk / Jazz / Classical

"albums on iTunes and CDBaby.com"

Jacksonville / St Petersburg, Florida
United States

Profile Views:  58705




Last Login:  11/12/2008
View My: Pics | Videos

   Contacting Rebecca Zapen

 MySpace URL: 
  http://www.myspace.com/zapen  

   Rebecca Zapen: General Info
Member Since7/8/2004
Band Websitezapen.com
Band MembersRebecca Zapen (Folk, Baroque Pop): Rebecca Zapen (vocals, guitar, ukulele, violin). If I'm lucky, joined by Kristi Stice (vocals, melodica, glockenspiel), Chelsea Chason (double bass, vocals), Scott Murray (dobro, guitar), The Mills Family on violins (Abby, Jessie, and Micah Mills)

{ ALL ALBUMS AVAILABLE ON iTunes & CD Baby }

All-original folk album
Japanese Bathhouse now available, with critical acclaim from Relix, Tape-Op, Tasty, babysue, Subba-Cultcha and more. "Sails delightfully along between the waters of pop and jazz, with gentle breezes and soft ocean sighs to soothe you on the way." (Performing Songwriter)

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ZapStar: Rebecca Zapen/Gary Starling Group (Jazz, Bossa Nova): Rebecca Zapen (violin/vocals), Gary Starling (guitar), Chelsea Chason (bass), Peter Miles (drums)
zapstar_cover_80hNew album, ZapStar, with their take on swing, bossa nova and ballad standards.
Tracks: On the Street Where You Live, Like Someone In Love, It Might As Well Be Spring, How Deep Is The Ocean, It Ain't Necessarily So, Things We Said Today, Nuages, Bernie's Tune, I Only Have Eyes For You, When You Wish Upon A Star, I Thought About You, Here Comes The Sun

--------------------------------
Rebecca's debut jazz CD
Hummingbird available on CDBABY.com. Features jazz standards, and 5 originals penned by Rebecca. Muppets fans, we did a version of "Halfway Down the Stairs".

--------------------------------
{ View SonicBids EPK }
InfluencesSuzanne Vega, Nick Drake, Jonathan Richman, The Roches, Stephane Grappelli, Elliott Smith, The Beatles, Tierney Sutton, Chet Baker
Sounds LikeAn eclectic and diverse texture created by harmonized vocals, ukulele, guitar, violin, upright bass, and dobro. Some of our music has a 1930's/40's sound ("Smile"), but also in the mix are Appalachian violin droning, klezmer-esque pizzicato, fingerpicking arpeggiated folk, bouncy ukulele swing, and a dash of tap dancing.

Ditty Bops, Julie Doiron, Jolie Holland, Edith Frost, Astrud Gilberto, Sondre Lerche, Isobel Campbell, Feist, Damien Rice, Eleni Mandell

Video: We Didn't Bother (Rebecca Zapen). Editing thanks: Chris Estes, RZ Peep Faces of Death 3
by Jeremy Douglass
the halloween edition. four more ill-fated peeps meet ghastly ends. this time they're ghosties! sway to the dulcet tones of skeeter davis. filmed on location at maison zapen in luxuriant jacksonville, florida. rebecca lent her seasoned hand for the stop-motion segment. abby provided the 57 varieties of blood and dorinda documented the affair with zeal and aplomb.
Historic footage from the New Piano Tap Dance Party. Oh, the ribaldry!
(I apologize in advance for your imminent neck cramp. Embrace the sideways camera angle.)
Tappa Tappa Zappa Zappa


Record LabelBashert Records
Type of LabelIndie




   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Nov 21 2008 8:00P
Cobalt Lounge @ Casa Monica Hotel St Augustine, Florida
Nov 26 2008 9:00P
Casbah Hookah Lounge Jacksonville, Florida

Rebecca Zapen's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

18  (view more)

Magical May-hem  (view more)

Travel blog: a Great ’08!! (Jan & Feb)  (view more)

Ukes! Crocs! Whad’Ya Know?  (view more)

RZ on Nat’l Public Radio: Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know?  (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

   About Rebecca Zapen
{ Albums available at CD Baby and on iTunes }

"Nothing adequately prepares for the way in which her deeply personal album instantaneously envelops and never loses its grip.... The title song and others bring to mind no less than early solo McCartney and Brian Wilson's SMiLE.... One of those near-perfect hidden gems..."
        -- RELIX


{ Blog } Tales of travels and touring: http://zapen.livejournal.com/

{ VIDEO } "Smile", in which Rebecca plays a Her and a Him, and PlayMobil figures play Jacques Cousteau and Florence Nightingale via stop-motion animation. 2nd Place winner in Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest. Rebecca is endorsed by Bushman Music Works.



{ Biography }

in the park Versatile violinist, vocalist, and songwriter Rebecca Zapen's first musical memory was that of sitting under the baby grand piano as a toddler, her ears filled by the sounds of her mother playing Chopin, Beethoven, and Mozart. Her college years were filled with opera, orchestra, chamber music, and late night jazz jams. The journey continued to twist and unfold, rich in varied musical experiences: Tom Waits tunes via CB radio and Celtic harp, a four-year trip to the Old World in Klezmania, spoken word with eclectic folk, Gypsy jazz. She walks her present path as a performer of range and depth: a classically-trained violinist, a jazz crooner/violinist in quartet ZapStar, and an award-winning songwriter/composer. Rebecca's dreamy, ethereal vocals swoon and sweep atop sublime melodies and infectiously charming lyrics, instantly hypnotic and effortlessly charming. Accompanying herself on ukulele, guitar, and violin, and joined by double bass, melodica, and string section, Zapen's music is mellow, creative, happy, and smart.

2008 highlights include Rebecca's recent performance as the musical guest on Public Radio International show "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?"; original songs in the YOU by Crocs nationally-distributed compilation "The Postcard Collection"; winning 2nd in the Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest and her resulting endorsement with Bushman Music Works; Finalist in the 2007 DiscMakers’ Independent Music World Series. Other career highlights include appearances as jazz vocal soloist with the Hollywood Philharmonic Orchestra, and as the mandolin soloist in Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's production of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. She is an award-winning composer, earning the Silver Medal of Excellence in the category of “Best Use of Music in a Short Film” at the Park City Film Music Festival for her scoring of A Riverside Evening. As a session musician, Zapen has composed for and performed on recordings for soundtracks, television, public radio, theme parks, and various musical groups. Her music has been featured on NPR's All Songs Considered: Open Mic.

Her beginnings were traditional enough, with a classical music education beginning at age 3 with the Suzuki Method, and culminating with her earning music and biology degrees while attending Florida State University on a music scholarship. Since then, her musical involvements have been with groups whose styles include jazz, swing, classical, klezmer, country, folk, rock, and spoken word. Zapen has performed with or opened for artists such as Vassar Clements, Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys, Tommy Womack, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Botti, Anathallo, and David Bazan, and has played in musical groups, symphony orchestras, and music festivals in U.S., Great Britain, Switzerland, and Italy.

Her versatile violin playing, pure clear voice, and ability to write nostalgia-infused music have earned her comparisons to Astrud Gilberto, Suzanne Vega, Leonard Cohen, and The Ditty Bops. Her influences include Stephane Grappelli, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chet Baker, and Nick Drake.

Zapen founded her own record label in 2003, naming it Bashert, which is a Yiddish word meaning "destiny" or "fate". Rebecca's recordings include Japanese Bathhouse, released in Fall 2005 after a European summer tour, with songs about anything from pirate love gone wrong to bread crumb trails to nudity in foreign lands. Relix describes Japanese Bathhouse: "Nothing adequately prepares for the way in which her deeply personal album instantaneously envelops and never loses its grip.... The title song and others bring to mind no less than early solo McCartney and Brian Wilson's SMiLE.... One of those near-perfect hidden gems..." During ZAPENation Tour 2006, Rebecca's acoustic folk-jazz trio (including dobro and double bass) gave 22 performances during its six-week tour of the United States. Her discography also includes debut release Hummingbird (2003), laden with bossa nova and blending violin, voice, sax, marimba, and rhythm section into a warm spacious sound; self-titled folk EP Michelle Payne & Rebecca Zapen (2003); and Songs of Bother and Woe (2005) which gives a taste of her nostalgic indie folk-pop, with a sound that ranges from simple ukulele and vocals to lush arrangements of strings and brass, and musical accents from melodica and glockenspiel. Zapen's jazz quartet ZapStar, co-led by Jacksonville University guitar professor Gary Starling, recorded their self-titled release, ZapStar, in early 2006, which has been receiving praise in the U.S. and abroad.

Quirky talent: strong urge to turn T.V. show themes into bossa novas.

Unusual performing experience: Scrambling down a Mayan pyramid, running across a huge field, and hiking my way up another pyramid, to meet a violinist playing his Norwegian Hardanger fiddle. We met, and I played an American fiddle tune on it. It was rather surreal.

   Rebecca Zapen's Friend Space (Top 16)
Rebecca Zapen has 2061 friends.
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Rebecca Zapen's Friends Comments
Displaying 50 of 1562 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Jacek Kulesza





Nov 15 2008 11:29 AM




dziekuje bardzo
it meens

Thanks a lot miss Rebecca

i like your sound too.
Your voice is very ...
"cynthia anne marshall"





Nov 14 2008 8:46 AM

THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENT I HOPE YOUR PERFORMENCE WENT WELL IF I KNEW YOU WERE COMMING THIS CLOSE ID CAME AND WATCH YOU MABE NEXT TIME :).

AND THE MENDELSSON SOLO YOU HERE WAS DONE BY ANOTHER ONE OF OUR VIOLINIST I LOVE PLAYING IT THO :) HE IS MY FAVORITE COMPOSER .

SORRY I COMMENTED BACK LATE HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD WEEK END :)
jukes of jax





Nov 14 2008 1:16 AM

Hey Rebecca: So good to hear and work with you again. Love your tunes.
Fran
marken





Nov 12 2008 3:33 AM

Hi! How are you? Isn't it time for a road trip?
Jon





Nov 12 2008 3:11 AM

Hey Rebecca, we're heading into Valrico via Tampa tomorrow...
Plan on seeing us in the crowd in Safety Harbor on Friday night....
Darren Ronan





Nov 11 2008 1:49 PM

the pic is from the zoo. pretty funny gig. I think you took the frog picture. that frog beat the #@!%* out of my drum.
first gig together - look at us now. still in a relationship after all these years....
Darren Ronan





Nov 11 2008 1:46 PM

I agree. We do sound lovely. Thanks a million for doing it. I think I told you, Ernie listened to your solo, smiled and said, "That's beautiful"
Couldn't say it better if I tried.
Dorinda





Nov 11 2008 7:41 AM

sweet patient dear....your book will once again be reunited with you in a couple of hours....the things i keep running out of everyday....
Daryl's Music Space





Nov 10 2008 1:10 PM

Hi Rebecca,
Thank You for the add.
Great Music & Sound!!!
Best Wishes Always.
Daryl
TubaChuckles





Nov 8 2008 11:59 PM

Hi 'Dorable! How'd the SC show go??
Come out and see the Slickers tomorrow if you're back in town.
Midtowne Center in St Nicholas
Festival kind of thing going on, ArtFest and Salute to the Troops.
We play 330. Be well.
Chuckles
rizorkestra one-man-folk-roots-blues-band





Nov 4 2008 11:19 PM

"...keepin' music real down-home for y'all..."

swing low (venice beach)



rizorkestra youtube
"cynthia anne marshall"





Nov 4 2008 7:51 PM

hi so hows the music comming along :)?
Arthur Teige





Nov 4 2008 4:45 AM

Thanks for the beautiful music.

I had a great weekend. Hank's and Heather's wedding was Friday evening and Heather played at Freebird on Saturday night. Everything went well and I survived!

I hope we'll see you again, soon!
SwampLily Records





Nov 3 2008 3:14 AM

Hey Buddy right back to ya.
Tanja Maritsa





Nov 1 2008 2:42 PM

Hello Rebecca

Thanks for dropping in and for your lovely comment - love the floaty magic sound of your music.

Tanja
Al Monte





Oct 31 2008 6:33 PM

img src=http://i358. photobucket. com/albums/oo28/KEANPAT/PARTYFLYER. jpg
—Jake





Oct 31 2008 4:52 AM

just thought you should know that i bought japanese bathhouse on itunes today :-)

have a good weekend!
Elisabeth Cramer





Oct 29 2008 12:42 AM

we need to play together again soon.
i miss you!
—Jake





Oct 29 2008 12:12 AM

yeah, you're awesome :-)

my psychology teacher, mrs. difranco, showed us your video for the bushman ukulele contest and i loved it so i started listening to a few of your other songs and i think you're great.

planning to see you at the casbah in a few weeks :-)
abigail margaret agnew





Oct 28 2008 11:06 PM

It was really nice to meet you a few weeks ago at the symphony! i love your music, and show all my friends.
your a great influence on the music I play. thanks alot for sharing it!
-Abigail
The Architect Sound


Is Online


Oct 28 2008 8:26 PM

RON ROTONDO- Music





Oct 28 2008 6:33 PM

Thanks a lot. I like your music as well.

Side note: Just noticed you were playing a jewish fest. Are you jewish? If so, me 2! Great stuff.
Thanks for the add! -ron
Bruno Oliveira





Oct 27 2008 10:56 PM

It is our, my dear Rebecca !!
PK-Project





Oct 27 2008 8:46 PM

Thanks a lot for your friendship!
....all the best...

Peter
Adamatys





Oct 27 2008 7:30 PM

Photobucket

Thanks for your friendship and music!
Taylor Roberts





Oct 27 2008 5:52 PM

Zapen!! Been since a while...since I was at the Casbah w/Rocio. The tunes sound great, especially "I Am Fine." Call me anytime. I got a new phone and lost all the numbers...long story.
Anyway, be well!
Juggernaut Von Punchface





Oct 26 2008 7:00 AM

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Duke





Oct 26 2008 6:10 AM

Hi Rebecca
Good to have you on My Myspace
Duke
Jimmah





Oct 26 2008 12:46 AM

Hiya ! Thanx for the add !
Put me on your mailing list.
Hope to seeya perform sometime soon.
The Chicken Chasers





Oct 24 2008 10:30 PM

Thanks for the kind words, Rebecca. We can't wait to hear you in person.