The award-winning cabaret and jazz vocalist Celia Berk discusses her new album Now That I Have Everything (Gramercy Nightingale, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Celia Berk joins me now. The award-winning cabaret and jazz vocalist has a new album out, Now That I Have Everything. It’s 13 songs of the Great American Songbook, songs that we know and love, and other gems that we might not have been familiar with. And in Ms. Berk’s hands, or voice really, they’re rendered inviting, charming, delightful, and often beautiful and powerful, and that’s not just in the changes of keys. The author and journalist Will Friedwald says of Celia Berk’s artistry on this album: “It’s less a performance than an intimate dialogue between two close friends.” And that it is with this conversation with Celia that we taped one week ago. I’ll ask her about the song selections, the process working with the musicians that directed and arranged the music, and the craftsmanship and artistry of the music and lyrics. There are songs on the album written by Sammy Cahn, Hoagy Carmichael, Ervin Drake, Hugh Martin, Carly Simon, Billy Strayhorn, James Van Huesen, and Stevie Wonder. From Gramercy Nightingale, this is her third album. Her first two albums were Manhattan Serenade, and You Can’t Rush Spring. She’s made memorable appearances at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland Theater, The Town Hall, and the National Arts Club. For more information visit www.CeliaBerk.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Celia Berk; Ms. Berk, good morning.

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