Introducing our Artists - Dulcie Taylor

In continuation, we would like to introduce Dulcie Taylor with whom we have most recently released Diamond and Glass.

“I like to write on an immediate level,” says singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Dulcie Taylor. To me, art is communication.”

Delivered via a clear, supple voice and lyrics that are powerfully direct and down-to-earth, the 10 original songs on Mirrors and Windows –Taylor’s high energy second CD for Black Iris Records — beautifully reflect that sentiment.

Taylor’s new CD ranges from the Byrds-tinged “Blackberry Winter” to the roots rock ‘n roll “Seaboard Train,” from the smoky, blues-inflected “Woman I Used to Be” to the sweet, pure acoustic “Love Like Yours and Mine” and the haunting country-acoustic “Ice Melts.”

“Mirrors and Windows gave me the joy of exploring the musical styles I love, keeping them updated and fresh, and making them all work together,” Taylor says.

Throughout, Taylor continues her emphasis on strong, memorable melodies and mixing arrangements and sounds.
“I try to write songs that will stay in your mind, and I like to mix up the sounds to keep the CD interesting.”

On Mirrors and Windows, which was released in March, 2004, Taylor was helped by her label’s decision to record at the Signature Sounds studio in Palmer, MA, with Mark Thayer producing and Dulcie and long-time guitarist John Landau co-producing. It features Dulcie on vocals, guitar, dulcimer, and harmonica, and continues her interest in working with the best musicians around. Several of fine musicians support her on this CD: Rounder Records recording artist Duke Levine (of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s band) plays guitars and lap steel; Richard Gates (Suzanne Vega, Richard Thompson, Patty Larkin) plays bass; Lorne Entress on drums and percussion (Mighty Sam McClain, Susan Tedeschi) and Michael Bellar on Hammond B3 (Art Garfunkel).

Mirrors and Windows follows Taylor’s first Black Iris debut release (2002), Diamond & Glass, which received substantial airplay nationwide, charting at Album Network’s non-commercial AAA, and garnered rave reviews, such as:

“It shines exactly like its title, Diamond & Glass.” — Robert Oermann, Music Row

“Dulcie Taylor is a gifted writer; she also has a compelling voice which she employs with nuance and emotion.” — Kerry Dexter, Dirty Linen

“Taylor is a poet, a romantic” – Mike Joyce, The Washington Post

Mirrors and Windows has also received substantial airplay nationwide, reaching No. 7 on the Roots Rock Chart at Roots Music Report. Like Diamond & Glass, it has also been the TOP PICK MP3 at The Washington Post MP3 site. It has received wonderful critical response:

“Throughout, the writing is smart, witty, and heartfelt.” – Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, No Depression

“This album has it all.” – Victor Heyman, Sing Out!

“She writes from the heart, for the heart.” – Katy Hershberger, Washington Post MP3

At the Washington Area Music Association Awards ceremony ceremony in February 2003, Diamond & Glass won a Wammie (Washington Area Music Award) — Dulcie’s second in her career — being chosen as the Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Taylor was also chosen as a finalist in the Chris Austin songwriting contest at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, NC.

Taylor has shared the stage with a wide variety of acts – Asleep at the Wheel, Guy Clark, Steve Forbert, John Gorka, Richard Shindell, Livington Taylor, to name a few, performing at venues such as The Iron Horse, The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and The Birchmere. She is also a writer of poetry and prose, and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Poetry Series at Washington, D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library. The Folger attracts scholars from around the globe, and is also home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, as well as magnificent collections of other rare Renaisance books and manuscripts.

When asked about her strongest influences, Dulcie laughs and says, “The unknown boy at Myrtle Beach who wandered up on the porch where we were staying, sat on my ukulele and smashed it. I was 10 years old and devastated! That Christmas, Mother said ‘we’ll just get you something a little bigger’ and gave me a guitar.”

The biggest early influence on Taylor was simply being raised in a small community. “You’re in people’s faces a lot. That makes you look at the human situation very closely.” That perspective and experience has defined the things Dulcie holds precious in this world: “Most of life is made up of the day-to-day small things, so I try to see the beauty in them.”

Introducing our Artists - Dudu Fisher

In continuation, we would like to introduce Dudu Fisher, and our release In Concert from Israel.

Dudu Fisher is known throughout the world for his stirring performance as Jean Valjean in the hit show “Les Miserables,” but his career began in his native country Israel many years before.

After three years of service in the Israel defense forces, Fisher studied at the Tel Aviv academy of music and studied privately with some of the great cantors of the previous generation. He was only 22 when he was invited to become the Cantor of the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv. Along with his synagogue duties, Fisher also traveled throughout the world, bringing traditional Hassidic, Yiddish and Cantorial music to new audiences.

During a trip to London in 1986, he happened to see a performance of the musical “Les Miserables.” It was an event that changed his life. When word was released of the show’s forthcoming production in Hebrew, Fisher knew that he had to audition for the show. The fact that he had absolutely no experience working in the theater did not deter him for a moment. In true Broadway musical fashion, the British director of the Israeli version, Stephen Pimlot, chose the inexperienced Fisher for the lead role of Jean Valjean. The rest is history. “Les Miz” became the longest running show in Israel and Fisher became a superstar.

His stardom is not limited to Israel. In 1988 he was invited to London to take part in a royal command performance hosted by the queen of England. The performance was a special version 0f “Les Miz,” featuring artists from the many “Les Miz” productions playing around the world. From there, the play’s producer, Cameron Mackintosh, invited Fisher to play the role of Jean Valjean on Broadway and London’s West End.

The role of Jean Valjean even took him to soccer’s world cup final at Wembly stadium, where he and four other “Valjeans” were invited to sing. Although Dudu Fisher is not the first Israeli actor to achieve success in the theater and musical world, Fisher did achieve a first of a different kind. As an observant Jew, he was the first actor on Broadway and the west end to be excused from performing on Friday nights, Saturday matinees and all Jewish holidays.

During his long career, Fisher has recorded over twenty albums. He sang the role of Moses in the Hebrew version of Stephen Spielberg’s “The Prince of Egypt.” He has sung with the Israel philharmonic orchestra, conducted by maestro Zubin Mehta, recorded an album of show tunes with the London symphony orchestra and has performed as well with the Baltimore and Queens symphony orchestras.

In addition to Britain’s royal family, he has performed for the Thai Royal Family and for President and Senator Clinton. He was the first Israeli artist allowed to sing in the Soviet Union in the days before Perestroika. His concerts there were attended by thousands of Jews thirsting for Jewish culture.

A particularly moving concert took place in his father’s hometown of Dubnow in the Ukraine. In the theater, Fisher has played leading roles in the productions of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Kol Nidre”, by Lalo Shifrin and Avi Koren, “Over The Rainbow”, and “Stairways to Heaven”. Fisher’s first one-man show “Never on Friday”, opened at Off-Broadway’s Jewish Repertory Theater in 1999. Lawrence Van Gelder of the New York times called the show… “A display of a vocal talent that resists confinement and is an explosion of religious faith that is reflected in the show’s title. Mr. Fisher possesses the spectrum of talent to make it work.”

From January to April of 2001, Dudu Fisher was seen on Israeli stages starring in “The Rothschilds”, a musical by Jerry Bock and Sherman Yellen. Shortly after, he was presented the “Liberty Award” at the Lower East Side Festival, which celebrates contributions to Jewish culture in America. In October of 2002, Dudu again thrilled his audiences with a one-man show, “Something Old, Something New”, which was written by Richard Jay-Alexander, Dudu’s Broadway “Les Miz” director. He opened to rave reviews. Victor Gluck of back stage wrote of fisher, “The energy that Fisher radiates on stage can light a small city”. Cheryl Kupfer of the Jewish press entitled her review, “Something Old, Something New-Something Awesome”. “He might just as well have called it Something for Everyone”, wrote Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times. Adding to Fisher’s accomplishments are his staring role in the film “The Road to Glory”, acting as host on an Israeli television series and appearing on innumerable radio and television programs throughout the world.

It is safe to say that Dudu Fisher has excelled in every aspect of his profession. He is happily married and the proud father of three children. Dudu’s fall 2004 one-man show “Dudu Fisher Coming to America” which features selections from “Fiddler on the Roof”, “The Jazz Singer” and “Yentl” recently toured in the United States. In Israel, Dudu brings back Yiddish and Klezmer music with an ongoing production for the Yiddishspiel Theater.

Audiences are thrilled by his latest show, “Jerusalem”. The tour of this show began in Jerusalem and he continues to travel through the states and europe with the production. He has recently completed filming a PBS special in the valley of Beit She’an in Israel. The premier airing of the program which took place in Florida in December of 2008 was a huge success. This PBS show will be aired nationwide in 2009.

From the opera house in Sydney Australia to Madison square garden in New York, from the Budapest Opera House to the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Dudu Fisher spends most of the year traveling around the globe bringing joy to millions of people.

Introducing our Artists - Steven Santoro

In order to properly introduce ourselves, we must let you know about our artists. We are pleased and honored to have released Whisper My Name with Steven Santoro.

Steven Santoro, born Steven Kowalczyk, from Milford, Massachusetts, did not have to look far to find his new name. His grandfather, Libertore Santoro was a saxophone player and inspired Steven, the fourth grader, to play the horn as well. But during his freshman year in High School , Steven’s musical interests took a turn. Even though he loved playing classic Big Band charts like Count Basie’s “Queen Bee”, he truly found himself while sitting in front of a piano writing songs. Soon his band director was lending him the keys to the Grand piano in the auditorium.

Steven’s songwriting and singing addiction eventually led him to the University of Massachusetts to study Afro American Music and Jazz with Dr. Horace Boyer. While learning to sing and improvise on classic 32 bar songs made famous in the Jazz and Swing eras, Steven wrote and arranged his own pieces. Some were inspired by the form and tone of the classics and others continued on the ever changing path of the pop music that pervaded.

Steven’s ability to authentically juggle the two styles is what years later, caught the ears of Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary founder of Atlantic Records. After a stint of teaching Special Education classes in Los Angeles, Steven recorded his first album, “Moods And Grooves”, for Atlantic Records with producers Ertegun and Shane Keister. Released worldwide, it rose to #20 on the Jazz Radio Charts in the USA while Kowalczyk toured the country as an opener for FOURPLAY ( Bob James, Nathan East, Lee Ritenour, Harvey Mason). After parting with Atlantic Records, Steven played to eager audiences in London and “Moods And Grooves” shot to #1 on United Kingdom’s Jazz FM Radio.

Back home, Steven performed in New York’s club scene and worked as a studio session singer, lending his voice to many national and international ad campaigns. He also produced and arranged for other independent recording artists and kept on writing the songs he loved to write. At the same time he was able to take part in his other love, teaching. The Public School Repertory Company, a performing arts alternative High School located in the heart of Times Square, tapped into the talented, now more experienced Steven Kowalczyk. For three years he taught Songwriting, Music Theory and Vocal Technique to a creative and restless crew of NYC’s Hip Hop culture. Under his guidance, his Songwriting class won the award for Best Original Song in the National Gospel Choir Competition.

Meanwhile, While on a session at Signature Sounds Studio in Massachusetts, Steven called in some of NY’s heaviest players (James Genus, Clarence Penn, Nathaniel Townsley, Marc Ciprut, Jon Cowherd, Jeremy Manasia, Jon Smith, more…) to lay down the tracks to some of his original tunes. He took on his grandfather’s name and this time with himself as producer, Steven Santoro created the album, “Soul Of The Night .” Here he infused the sophisticated harmony of Jazz with the sexy rhythms and vocal sounds of R and B and Pop. He sings of the pain and beauty of childhood, love, and life in the city. The album drew thousands of listeners online.

Now Steven has packaged two new albums of originals. “Where I Come From” is an homage to the R&B inflected sound of the 70’s. “Whisper My Name”, is the newest studio endeavor, which brings Steven back to his Swing/Adult Contemporary roots. The songs, simply produced by Steven with quartet James Genus, Clarence Penn, Jon Cowherd and Marc Ciprut, are swinging and romantic, simple yet sophisticated.

Thirty Tigers/BMG invited Steven to arrange and perform a cut on the “Song of America” release ( Sept ‘07) in which he and other artists such as Take 6, John Mellencamp, Black Crowes, Andy Bey and more, present a history of classic American songs that span 2 Centuries. And in the Fall of ‘07, “Ivory Joe Cole,” A new musical for which he is the lyricist, is being presented in workshop in conjunction with the William Morris Agency, under the direction of Kenny Leon (”Raisin In The Sun” with Sean Combs and Phyllicia Rashad). Steven is currently on faculty at the famed Berklee College of Music.