This original album's songs capture the enthralling women of early Impressionist Édouard Manet's portraits. Manet's brush painted women who were courtesans, wives, fellow artists and denizens of the demi-monde. The honesty and beauty of these portraits has enchanted (and even infuriated) viewers since they were painted. Now, they speak through the songs of Kristen Lee Sergeant that celebrate the immediacy, personality and beauty of the subjects they are based on; bringing new dimension to what it means to see, create and be art.

To hear more, visit www.manetandthewomen.com

Personel:

Kristen Lee Sergeant (composition & lyrics, arrangements, vocals):

Kristen Lee Sergeant combines a jazz musician’s daring musicianship, an actor’s storytelling aplomb and a cabaret chanteuse’s charisma to become a one -of-a-kind artist. Her songs and performance are an experience as much as they are sound, prompting BroadwayWorld to describe her work as “the musical equivalent to a Martha Graham dance concert… it’s kind of like being on a really good boutique drug and seeing your life mapped out, right before your own eyes.” As a songwriter, she’s been alikened to “Tom Waits minus the growl” (Midwest Jazz Record) and her theatrical leanings shine through her choice of material, be it mythology or simply mistakes well made. With three albums to her name, each has evolved her voice as a songwriter and creative force on the scene.

In this new project, Kristen calls upon her varied experience and influences — from the Great American Songbook to chamber music and musical theater, prompting press to remark on her “sophisticated songs worthy of a stage musical…” (AllAboutJazz) and the “…strong sense of story to her vocal jazz performances…The music provides the visceral context for Sergeant’s smart lyrics…and gorgeous legit vocals.” (DownBeat.)

Her talents have brought her to stages at Birdland, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Zinc Bar, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, L.A.’s The Blue Whale, and Joe’s Pub  — and she is poised to travel farther as the music broadens its reach to the world.

Early in her career, her passion for music and theater led her to work professionally as an actor and singer on the dramatic stage, until she fell in love with jazz while singing with a big band regularly in NYC. She found inspiration from performers current and past such as Marilyn Maye, Dianne Reeves, Mark Murphy and Judy Garland. After finding her voice in jazz, she began writing her own songs and creating her own arrangements — finding both a freedom and a control that no other art form could offer.

"Manet and The Women" promises to be a showcase for her dramatic sensibility, lyrical sensitivity and explorative musical style.

Multi-Grammy Award winner Ted Nash was born into a musical family in Los Angeles. His father, Dick Nash, and uncle, the late Ted Nash, were both well-known jazz and studio musicians. The younger Nash exploded onto the jazz scene at eighteen, moved to New York and released his first album, Conception (Concord Jazz). He is co-leader of the Jazz Composers Collective and is constantly pushing the envelope in the world of “traditional jazz.” His group Odeon has often been cited as a creative focus of jazz. Many of Nash’s recordings have received critical acclaim, and have appeared on the “best of” lists in the New York Times, New Yorker, Village Voice, Boston Globe, and Newsday. His recordings, The Mancini Project (Palmetto Records) and Sidewalk Meeting (Arabesque Recordings), have been placed on several “best-of-decade” lists. His album Portrait in Seven Shades was recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and was released in 2010. The album is the first composition released by the JLCO featuring original music by a band member other than bandleader Wynton Marsalis. His groundbreaking "Presidential Suite" won him the Grammy Award for best jazz large ensemble album in 2017, and also was awarded the same year for best arrangement.

Timeline

Fall 2023 - Winter 2024 -- music completion (songs, arrangements)
Spring - Summer 2024 - recording
Summer - Fall 2024 - promotion/performance/preparation
Anticipated Release: Fall or Spring 2024 (pending label agreement)

Where Does the $ Go?

Most of this money goes to people --  people writing music, making arrangements, playing instruments, engineering, mixing, mastering, promoting and more.

I'm happy to share more detail on budget to anyone who'd like to dig in -- when the project is funded, I'll be doing quarterly meetings to share progress in all things, business and art, for all contributing so you can see how all these things work in the numbers and beyond!