Kjerstin 'Kj' Easton

I’m excited to be featured again with the always-delightful Caltech-Occidental Concert Band!

You may recall our hijinks in New York in 2008 — well, first Carnegie Hall, now the world! I’m going to China with the band in March, but our favorite LA folks can get a preview performance of our Beijing program on February 19.

I’ll be singing three Gershwin tunes with the ensemble and I’d love if if you were part of the crowd we’re there pleasing with these classic, well, crowd-pleasers!

When: Saturday, February 19, 7:30pm, no tickets required
Where: Thorne Hall, Occidental College, Eagle Rock, CA

Map to Occidental College
Campus map (Thorne Hall is building #13)

Steven Chemtob, Amalia Francalangia, Shannon Kao and I decided to put on a recital last Sunday. I just added several recordings from the show to the Recordings page!

American Lullaby, Gladys Rich (1892-1994)
Give Me Jesus, traditional spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
Silent Noon, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
How Could I Ever Know (from The Secret Garden), Lucy Simon (b. 1943)
You’re Just in Love (from Call Me Madam), with Steven Chemtob, Irving Berlin (1888-1989)

For the last several months, I’ve been spending almost as much time traveling for my robotics work as I’ve spent at home, which has made it a bit tough to keep up a regular performance schedule.  I’m excited to be back in town for a few weeks and even more excited to announce that I’ll be performing in a voice recital on Sunday, November 14 at 4pm.  The fare will be more classical (that’s “legit” to you hep cats out there) than my usual repertoire, but will feature some extraordinary singers performing a great program.  On top of that, admission is free!

Who: Steven Chemtob, Amalia Francalangia, Shannon Kao, and Kjerstin ‘KJ’ Williams
What: A Studio Voice Recital featuring the students of Desiree LaVertu performing works by Donizetti, Finzi, Moses Hogan, Mozart, Puccini, Vaughan Williams, and others
Where: Bird Studio, Occidental College, Eagle Rock, CA
When: Sunday, November 14, 4pm

Map to Occidental College
Campus map

As always, you can stay up to date by subscribing to the calendar!

This May, the Caltech bands are putting on their 30th annual Bandorama concerts, and I’m so glad they asked me to come out, grab the microphone, and join in the celebration!  I got my start in jazz in front of the Caltech bands, so singing with them always feels like coming home.

These concerts are a great opportunity to hear the Caltech-Occidental Concert Band and both of the Caltech Jazz Bands.  And lucky you, you have two chances to catch the show!

When: Friday May 14 and Saturday, May 15 at 8PM
Where: The concert is in Ramo Auditorium, Building 77 on the maps at http://www.caltech.edu/map/. No tickets are required.

My demo project with the Conspirators has been immense fun! We’re hoping to mix it in the next couple of weeks, then I’ll be out and about drumming up new gigs. Meanwhile, since gigs are slow mid-demo, I’ve been digging into songwriting and bumping up against the limits of my own home recording technology. I’ve flogged my beloved Zoom H4, my ancient MacBook Pro (now affectionately known as Old Wheezy), and Garage Band to their limits. So what’s next? It’s time to turn our rec room into a rehearsal space and modest home studio. I can’t wait to share some of the fruits of the new space with you, dear Internet!

It’s been a whirlwind season of caroling, holiday concerts, and parties, but it’s drawing to a close.  It’s almost time to take a deep breath and charge into the New Year!

Though I’m usually in diva mode here, I thought I’d share a picture of the caroling group I sang with this year, courtesy of our director, Nancy Sulahian.  From left to right, you see John Yong, yours truly, Casey Glick, Rachel Salaiz, and Victoria Stolyar. It was a pleasure singing with such a talented group! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Next Friday, December 4, from 9pm-midnight, the Conspirators and I will be back at Pinocchio’s in Pasadena for a great evening of jazz standards, swing, and blues!

It’s a Friday deal that can’t be beat: wonderful music, no cover charge, tasty Italian food, and all ages are welcome. Come for dinner or hang out in the cozy lounge area — it’s the perfect spot to enjoy an hour or three of great tunes!

You can drop in or you can call them at (626) 791-7591 and make a reservation.

Pinocchio’s is at:
1449 N Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91104

My partners in crime? The Conspirators are Jim Van Deventer on tenor sax, Laurence Yeung on guitar, Jimi Hawes on bass, and Mike Ferrara on drums.

I sure hope to see you there!

map

Facebook event page — invite your friends!

I’ve been busy in the studio with the Conspirators, so to whet your appetite for new tunes, I thought I’d post some live recordings from this year’s mischief.  Up first? Check out the Recordings page and grab the tunes I sang at the Raymond Scott tribute concert this May!

I wanted to give a warm welcome to anyone who came across this page thanks to the article in Rose Magazine. Please poke around, sign up for the mailing list by dropping line to news@kjerstin.com, subscribe to the calendar, enjoy a few tunes, and make yourself at home!  I hope to see you at a show sometime soon!

We’ll be back at our favorite Italian joint this Saturday, September 19!

As always, great food, no cover, a fabulous new lounge area where you can relax and enjoy your drinks and our tunes.

We’ll see you there!

You can drop in or you can call them at (626) 791-7591 and make a reservation.

Pinocchio’s is at:
1449 N Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91104

map

Facebook event page — invite your friends!