Monday, September 15, 2014

October November December Performance Dates

Hi ~ Emoji
Here are the dates I have for October, November & December...

 
Oct. 17, 2014
The Bijou Café
132 S.W 3rd & Pine Ave.
7pm-10pm
w/ Steve Christofferson - on Piano
Ed Bennett - on Bass
 
Oct. 31, 2014
The Benson Hotel
309 S.W. Broadway & Oak St.
8:30pm-12am
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano
 
Nov. 8, 2014
Meridian United Church Of Christ ( Frog Pond Church )
6750 S.W Boeckman Rd.
Wilsonville, OR
8pm-9:30pm
w/ Ron Steen - on Drums
Phil Goldberg - on Piano
Dennis Caiazza - on Bass
 
Nov. 29, 2014
The Heathman Hotel
1001 S.W. Broadway & Salmon St.
7pm-11pm
w/ Guest Pianist
Bill Athens - on Bass
 
Dec. 6, 2014
Big Horn Brass
Milwaukie High School Auditorium
11300 S.E. 23rd Ave.
7pm
 
Dec. 13, 2014
Big Horn Brass
Location TBA soon
Vancover, Wash.
7pm
 
Dec. 14, 2014
Big Horn Brass
St. Matthew Lutheran Church
10390 S.W. Canyon RD
Beaverton, OR
6:30pm
 
Dec. 31, 2014
Jimmy Mak's
221 S. W. 10th Ave. ( between Davis & Everett St. )
7:30pm- 9pm... break... then ? - 12am
w/ Mel Brown - on Drums
Louis Pain - on Organ
Dan Balmer - on Guitar
Renato Caranto - on Tenor Sax
Curtis Craft - on Percussion
Pianist TBA
 
 
again I will get to you asap also the location of the gig w/ BHB in Vancover...
Thanks Shawn for all you have done for me, it's truly
appreciated.
 
God Bless
warmest regards
Shirley Nanette Emoji Emoji Emoji

Monday, July 14, 2014

2014 Summer Performances

Hi Fans ~ 
Happy Summer To All Of You !!!
I have been waiting seems like forever, for Summer to get here...
and now my waiting is over... Hooray !

Sorry I got a little carried away...  I'm o.k. now...
I hope you are all well and enjoying life, I'm feeling much better
Thank God... and Thank All of You for letting me know that you
cared about me... last year was a very challenging and scary time
in my life. But by the Grace of God I'm still here & singing... It's
been a little slow, but I have Faith that it will get better.
So I have some dates that I hope you will be able to come to... so
without further ado... here we go:

July 19, 2014
The Heathman Hotel
1001 S.W. Broadway St.
8pm - 12am
w/ Vince Frates on Piano
Bill Athens - on Bass

July 24, 2014
Jack Quinby Orchestra
6:30pm - 10:30pm
Newberg Old Fashion Festival
Memorial Park ( Main Stage )
4th & Blaine St.
Newberg, OR

July 26, 2014
The Benson Hotel
309 S.W. Broadway St.
8:30pm - 11:30pm
w/ Ezra Weiss - on Piano

July 29, 2014
Jack Quinby Orchestra
6:30pm-8:45pm
Tunes on Tuesday Concert Series
Chehalem Cultural Center
415 E. Sheridan St.
Newberg, OR

August 9, 2014
The Heathman Hotel
1001 S.W. Broadway St.
8pm - 12am
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano
Bill Athens - on Bass

August 11, 2014
Washington Park 
w/ Ural Thomas & The Pain
5pm - 7pm

Well folks that's it for now, but I will be sending you more soon...
Thank You all for your support & being there for me,
it is Greatly Appreciated. I hope to see you soon God Willing.
Be safe in these Summer Days... and Art Abrams says
Keep A Song In Your Heart... God Bless.

warmest regards
Shirley Nanette   

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Get a mug and have a cup of coffee with Shirley Nanette

Have a cup of coffee with Shirley Nanette! store

Performances - May and June.

Shirley Nanette's website.

May 16, 2014
The Bijou Café
S.W. 3rd & Pine St.
7pm-10pm
w/ Vince Frates on - Piano
Ed Bennett on - Bass
Great Organic Food

May 24, 2014
The Benson Hotel
S.W. Broadway & Oak St.
8:30pm-12am
w/ Vince Frates on - Piano

June 21, 2014
The Heathman Hotel
S.W. Broadway & Salmon St.
8pm-12am
w/ Vince Frates on - Piano
Bill Athens on - Bass

June 28, 2014
The Benson Hotel
S.W. Broadway & Oak St.
8:30pm-12am
w/ Vince Frates on - Piano

warmest regards
Shirley Nanette

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Doug Fir and Soul'd Out Music Festival present URAL THOMAS & THE PAIN ANCIENT HEAT, REV. SHINES with SHIRLEY NANETTE April, 17th, 2014

Doug Fir and Soul'd Out Music Festival present
URAL THOMAS & THE PAIN with SHIRLEY NANETTE
April, 17th, 2014Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm$15.00 - $18.00

Ural Thomas is, and forever will be Portland's pillar of soul.
He started singing beneath his mothers knee in church at the age of 3. By high school he led the doo-wop group the Mono Rays, breaking hearts and taking names at Jefferson High and Irvington Park along the way. Ural's voice and songwriting soon gained national attention and he found himself sharing the stage with the likes of James Brown, Otis Redding, Johnny Guitar Watson and “Little” Stevie Wonder. He played the Apollo 44 times. He backed the Northwest's biggest soul and garage outfits of the1960s (The Kingsmen, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Cavaliers Unlimited) and he never for a moment stopped teaching, singing and loving soul music..
Now Ural is poised to represent Portland on equal ground with contemporaries like Lee Fields, Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley, all of whom ultimately gained their dues in their golden years. To ensure the legacy he's backed by a 9 piece band comprised of the some of the most recognizable session and solo players in town. Band leader/drummer Scott Magee (aka Cooky Parker) has arranged a setlist compiled from the gilded age of soul and R&B and Ural originals, all with a sharp focus on moving the dance floor. The foot stomping days of Jump Town, USA have returned and Ural Thomas & the Pain are here to lead the way.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Shirley Nanette Gets Her Overdue Due

Give and Take 

Shirley Nanette Gets Her Overdue Due

SHIRLEY NANETTE A Portland icon.
SHIRLEY NANETTE A Portland icon.


THE LIFE of any musician is filled with moments that could have sent her career down a completely different path. For Shirley Nanette, it was the recording of Never Coming Back in 1973.
The 66-year-old singer is now a well-established icon of the Portland jazz community, performing regular club gigs throughout the city. But back in the late '60s and early '70s, the goal was to stake her claim as the next big thing in soul and R&B, with a collection of loose, funky tunes that spoke of the power of love and equality.
Alas, it was not to be. Attempts to get the sessions released by one of the major labels of the day came to naught, and the 500 privately pressed albums that Nanette and her husband Al made left her with boxes of vinyl in her basement.
While she isn't hurting for work or recognition these days, Nanette is reclaiming at least a small part of her previous musical life with the help of Truth & Soul Records. The Brooklyn-based label reissued Never Coming Back last month, with lovers of rare groove and historians of '70s soul singing its praises at long last.
"I worked really hard on that album," Nanette says. "It's amazing to me that after 40 years, all of a sudden, there's this huge interest in this LP."
The return of Never Coming Back actually involves the other part of the US hipster-city triumvirate, Austin, Texas, and one of its longtime residents, David Haffner. The owner of the Friends of Sound record store and licensing company Magnetic Recordings stumbled upon a copy of the album while crate digging in Fort Worth.
"I found it in the 'gospel' section," Haffner says. "I looked on the back and recognized a couple of the names on it, like Billy Larkin. I figured out quickly it wasn't really a gospel record, and after I gave it a listen, I was pretty blown away." Haffner found kindred spirits in the folks at Truth & Soul, who agreed to fund the reissue.
Even for its time, Never Coming Back feels rough around the edges—likely due to the fact that the recording session at Vancouver, Washington's Ripcord Studio was so short.
"We had one day," Nanette says. "One day! It didn't turn out too bad, though. But if we'd have had at least a week, it would have been so polished, it would have been incredible."
What the songs lack in sonic depth, they make up for in power. The Meters-style workout of "All of Your Life" and the smoothly horn-inflected "Sometimes" are spirited, joyous tunes, driven by guitarist Hank Swarn's supple playing and the occasional flash of the horn section (including future Grammy winner Thara Memory). Of course, the strength of the album is Nanette. She's not a showy vocalist, but uses the clean, placid tones of her instrument expertly, mixing the jazzy inflections of Dinah Washington with the soulfulness of Gladys Knight.
Emboldened by her work, Nanette and her husband took a trip to California in 1973 to shop the album around and hopefully get a nationwide release. But, as she remembers, "It wasn't what anyone wanted to hear at the time. Jazz was really, really popular, so more pop and middle-of-the-road stuff was harder to get out there."
As dismaying as it was, Nanette didn't let it slow her down. She kept singing in various soul bands through the '70s before drifting toward the jazz scene in Portland, where she has been a fixture ever since. It may not have made her a household name, but to talk with her, she never gives the impression that she has any regrets about twists or turns her life has taken. That even goes for the brain aneurysm that she suffered last year.
"I'm a walking, talking, singing miracle," Nanette says. "They found, they fixed, and so... here I am.”
Link to original post.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Groundbreaking Television: The Nat King Cole Show



"We proved that a Black star could play host to whites, including women, and we proved it in such good taste that no one was offended," Nat King Cole wrote in a February 1958 article for Ebony magazine.

"I didn't bend over backwards, but I didn't go out of my way to offend anyone." Nat King Cole was writing about "The Nat King Cole Show," the first network TV program hosted by an African-American.

When the groundbreaking program premiered on Nov. 5, 1956 as a 15 minute variety show, Cole - renowned for his smooth and well-articulated vocal style - was one of the highest paid blacks in the nation and one of the most successful entertainers in the world.

"The Nat King Cole Show" would become a defining moment for Cole - and for America - as racial tensions intensified during the start of the civil rights movement. "I was the pioneer, the test case, the Black first," he wrote. "I didn't plan it that way, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see that I was the only Black man or woman on network television with his own show. On my show rode the hopes and fears and dreams of millions of people."

Nat King Cole originally signed a contract with CBS in 1956, but the promise of his own program never materialized on that network, according to published
reports. Later in the year, NBC reached an agreement with Cole's manager and agency, who packaged "The Nat King Cole Show."

The first broadcast aired without
commercial sponsorship; NBC agreed to pay for the program with the hope that advertisers would soon sign on. The network even expanded it to 30 minutes and increased its budget.

"The Nat King Cole Show" featured excellent musical performances, with orchestra leaders Nelson Riddle and Gordan Jenkins and guests that included Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Pearl Bailey, Mahailia Jackson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Bennett and Harry Belafonte. But potential advertisers were reluctant to embrace the show for fear that it would be boycotted by radical, racist white Southerners.

"The Nat King Cole Show" was cancelled by NBC after Cole refused to accept a less desirable time slot - and after he had grown disgusted by the racism in the advertising business. "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark " said Mr. Cole.

The program's last episode aired on Dec. 17, 1957. Cole spoke out in Ebony two months later. The name of the article: "Why I Quit My TV Show." "For 13 months, I was the Jackie Robinson of television," Cole wrote. "After a trail-blazing year that shattered all the old bug-a-boos about Blacks on TV, I found myself standing there with the bat on my shoulder. The men who dictate what Americans see and hear didn't want to play ball."

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Shirley Nanette vocals Ezra Weiss piano at the River Place Hotel


Shirley Nanette vocals George Mitchell piano at the Benson Hotel.

I will also be @ The Benson Hotel February 22, 2014 w/ George Mitchell on Piano from 8pm-11:30pm. George is Diana Ross's Pianist when she is on tour... if you have been to the PDX Jazz Festival's site they have an error on this date and time. The vocalist there, will actually be there at 5pm, before I get there.

I am very Grateful to all of you for your Support of me...
I hope to see you soon... Thanks.


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

February Gigs 2014

Hello my Dear Fans...



I just wanted to let you know about a few gigs that are coming very soon...

I sure would like to have your support and have you come & see me... I want to keep singing for as much as I can & as long as God lets me.

Also I will be @ The River Place on February 21, 2014 w/ Ezra Weiss on Piano from 8pm-10pm doing some of his Wonderful Tunes that we recorded w/ Shirley Horn's Drummer, back in 2010.

I will also be @ The Benson Hotel February 22, 2014 w/ George Mitchell on Piano from 8pm-11:30pm. George is Diana Ross's Pianist when she is on tour... if you have been to the PDX Jazz Festival's site they have an error on this date and time. The vocalist there, will actually be there at 5pm, before I get there.

I am very Grateful to all of you for your Support of me...
I hope to see you soon... Thanks.

God Bless You All.

- warmest regards,
Shirley Nanette

Sunday, January 5, 2014

2014 Venues Happy New Year!

Happy New Year !!!

Hi Fans ~ Emoji

I hope you all had a very happy & joyous Holiday Season
w/ Family & Friends, and are healthy...
I have been feeling pretty good so far & and Grateful to be
able to send you all this message of my up coming gigs...
I just went in today for my follow-up MRI... I will hear back
this coming week... keep me in your Prayers will you...
well it seems that the gigs are still a little light right now,
but I have faith it will get better... God Willing.
I had the pleasure of making a Christmas CD w/The
Gentlemen who does my web design things for me...
his name is Shawn Kirkeby... what a Wonderful Human
Being !  It's a straight accapella  Christmas thing... just me 
singing... the name of it is called Shirley Nanette The First Noel.
It's on CDBaby.com & today it arrived on ITunes & will be on
Amazon soon...  I'm so excited about it... check it out...
 the only thing is due to schedules it didn't get released until
Christmas Day... but I'm Happy anyhow !  I hope you will pick
one up & hope you enjoy it... I don't know of anyone taking that
challenge before...  well I've rattle on, so now it's time to let you
know where I'll be appearing... so here goes:

January 10, 2014

The Benson Hotel
309 S.W. Broadway & Oak St.
(503) 228-2000
8pm-11:30pm
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano

January 24, 2014

The Heathman Hotel
1001 S.W. Broadway & Salmon St.
8pm-12am
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano
Bill Athens - on Bass

January 31, 2014

Bijou Café
132 S.W. 3rd & Pine St.
7pm-10pm
Doors open 6pm
Bistro Supper Menu
Personnel TBA
February 21, 2014
River Place Hotel
water front
8pm-10pm
w/ Ezra Weiss - on Piano
February 22, 2014
The Benson Hotel
309 S.W. Broadway & Oak St.
8pm-11:30pm
w/ George Mitchell - on Piano
March 15, 2014
The Heathman Hotel
1001 S.W. Broadway & Salmon St.
8pm-12am
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano
Bill Athens - on Bass
March 22, 2014
The Benson Hotel
309 S.W. Broadway & Oak St.
8pm-11:30pm
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano
April 19, 2014
The Heathman Hotel
1001 S.W. Broadway & Salmon St.
w/ Vince Frates - on Piano
Bill Athens - on Bass
warmest regards,

Shirley Nanette

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Shirley Nanette The First Noel released on Christmas day at CD Baby

This album is a collection of music that Shirley Nanette interpreted with her years of experience. It contains seasonal classics with a spiritual connection to the season and the fun that Shirley is so well known for. These are one of a kind interpretations that will delight you during the holidays and throughout the year.
Shirley sings with the influences of Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald and years of joyful performances in this collection of seasonal songs.