AllAboutJazz-New York Presents "1s & 2s: Music For Solo & Duo" FEATURING: KATIE BULL (vocals) & JOE FONDA (bass)
CD release concert of Cup of Joe, No Bull: The Bull-Fonda Duo (Corn Hill Indie) on July 7th at Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street Greenwich Village, NY *8:30 and 10pm sets - $12/ (student discount $8)

Katie Bull

Katie Bull is a jazz vocalist and multi-media performer living in New York City since birth. Outside of pianists, there are probably more female vocalists working in jazz then any other type of performer, but when counting the truly adventurous singers that list becomes amazingly short. With Katie Bull a new name can be added. She has sung with her divine mentors ­ her "jazz mothers" vocalist/composers Jay Clayton and Sheila Jordan, as well as pianist and composer Kirk Nurock, composer Julius Eastman, pianists Michael Jefry Stevens, Frank Kimbrough and Joshua Wolf, percussionists Lou Grassi, Matt Wilson, Harvey Sorgen, George Schuller and Jon Wikan; and bass players Joe Fonda, Martin Wind and Cameron Brown. Her premiere CD (Conversations with the Jokers, which features with Stevens, Grassi, and Fonda) was released in early 2003, followed by her second CD (Love Spook which features Wilson, Kimbrough, Wind, Stevens and Joe Fonda) recently released. Katie is also a writer, inter-arts performer, and founder of The Bull Family Orchestra, integrating dance, spoken text, and music. Capable of creating the kind of music that has real meaning in today's world, Katie has the courage to tackle the contradictions inherent in love and life and the talent that gives her the ability to sing old songs in new ways. A wisp of Ella Fitzgerald here, a hint of Sarah Vaughan there, a few drops of Jeanne Lee and even a smidgen of June Christy may come to mind, but Katie's sound is hers alone. Her influences of the great jazz tradition are evident, but more in providing a launching pad for her own singular explorations.

"Jazz vocalist Katie Bull just never lets you down with her insightful CD projects...She & the groups she puts together seem supreme......feelings range from positive tension, relaxation, expectancy, and fulfillment...fine treatment and vocalease...intimate interaction of folks and forces...a pleasurable musical journey... Bull's music bespeaks an undisguised delight of the emotions she is quite capable of arousing...an illuminating & exciting new approach in listening." George Carroll-The Musicians' Ombudsman

"...(a) prodigiously talented singer...Bull sings in a warm, smooth voice that will remind some of Sarah Vaughan and others, interestingly, of the young Chet Baker - at least until she starts to scat, at which point her rhythmic adventurousness and unusual syllabic choices make it clear that she is approaching this repertoire with an agenda all her own." ­AllMusicGuide

"...(a) unique delivery and style...immediately qualifies her for that deserving-of-more-recognition category...Bull's scatting tendencies develop naturally when lyrics and words just don't seem enough to get the point across. Her natural swinging ability and risk-taking make her a vocalist deserving a listen."
-AllAboutJazz-New York

"There's no question as to authenticity - one listen to the young vocalist and you¹ll hear the wandering, giddy lyricism above rich, dark piano chords that make middle-age melodies youthful. She can scat, too..."
-Village Voice

"A great use of experimental voice work. Using her voice and phrasing as a free instrument alongside Joe Fonda's bass exploits one of the most inventive ideas that have come from the new wave of jazz vocalists...Bull will be a force to be reckoned with in vocal jazz."
-AllAboutJazz.com



Joe Fonda

Joe Fonda is a composer, bassist, recording artist, interdisciplinary performer, and producer. An accomplished international jazz artist, Fonda has performed with his own ensembles throughout the U.S. and Europe, and as a sideman with Archie Shepp, (Makanda) Ken McIntyre, Lou Donaldson, Bill and Kenny Barron, Wadada Leo Smith, Perry Robinson, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Mark Whitecage, Marion Brown, Bill Dixon, Charli Persip, and Chico Hamilton. He was associated with Anthony Braxton¹s various ensembles from '84-'99. Fonda was also a member of the Creative Musicians Improvisers Forum directed by Leo Smith, and was the bassist with the American Tap Dance Orchestra in New York City, directed by world renowned tap dancer, Brenda Bufalino. As a composer, Fonda has been the recipient of numerous grants and commissions and has released eight recordings under his own name. Currently Fonda has been recording and touring extensively with the Fonda-Stevens Group. They have released over half a dozen CDs and have had seven European tours since Œ97, with performances at the Bim huis in Amsterdam, Holland, the Prague Jazz Festival, Czech Republic, the Jazz Halo Festival, Belgium, and Jazz Festival Thurinsen, Weimer, Germany. One of the many groups he regularly performs with is Conference Call, a quartet, featuring either drummers Han Bennink or Matt Wilson, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, and multi-instrumentalist Gebhard Ullmann. Fonda also released a landmark solo bass CD six years ago (When It¹s Time on Jazz¹halo) in addition to his numerous CDs on various labels, ranging from Konnex and Leo to Music & Arts.

"Whatever the future may hold, it looks as if it's going to hold Joe Fonda."
- AllAboutJazz

"There is more to creative mastership than the surface of satisfaction and political certainty. The music of Joe Fonda is part of a living tradition of belief and dedication. Future historians will be surprised at the breadth of Mr. Fonda's offerings. This is a real virtuoso and composer of the highest order." - Anthony Braxton, 1996

This unique series - dedicated to unaccompanied and duo jazz performances - has already featured the following highly acclaimed performances: Ray Anderson/Bob Stewart's Heavy Metal duo;  Scott Robinson/Jules Thayer; Warren Smith/Kevin Norton; Karl Berger/John Lindberg; Michael Marcus/Edgar Bateman; Ken Peplowski/Greg Cohen, John Tchicai/Garrison Fewell; Joe Giardullo/John Heward; Ted Curson/Henry Grimes...