Jazz Rhapsody Spontaneous Comedy Company
by Connye Florance
A Southern Songbird’s
Tribute to the
Legacy of Jazz
the performance
Jazz Rhapsody...is 75 minutes of historic, contemporary and original jazz, engaging stories and insightful monologue...featuring the music of America's jazz masters and mistresses...including Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn.
Award-winning vocalist and actress Connye Florance is joined by her outstanding ensemble of musicians in a multi-media performance of a southern songbird's jazz journey. Through her eyes, and voice (that Leon Russell calls "velvet and wine"), the musical offers insight into jazz music, and its history and influences, including social and political climates, pivotal artistic contributions, and contemporary ideas and approaches to Jazz. While the play revels in the African-American roots and development of Jazz, it has a multi-cultural appeal as it reveals the beauty of, and untangles the complexity of, this truly "American" art form.
the feedback
"Velvet and wine." That's what singing and songwriting legend Leon Russell (This Masquerade, A Song for You) says about vocalist Connye Florance, whose deliciously smooth jazz vocals won her accolades as Jazz Discovery's "Vocalist of the Year" in 2000. Her 1999 independent release, won a Nammy nomination for Album of the Year, and her self-titled release has gained international attention from jazz fans and adult contemporary listeners alike.
Connye's dynamic delivery and creamy-rich style create an adept fusion of jazz, pop and R&B - silky and soulful - offering a taste of both old and new. Critics have called Connye's unique style "warm... captivating". Her fans simply call her "the real deal."
the voice
Hear Connye Florance sing.