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COACHES / COLLABORATORS

LINDA KOSUT, a jazz/cabaret recording artist and nightclub entertainer, swings jazz, pop and folk - blending songs of these differing genres into unexpected renditions and arrangements. She is the recipient of BackStage Magazine's Bistro/BMI Award & a New York MAC Award Nominee (Manhattan Assoc of Cabarets & Clubs).

As a performer, Linda is known as a storyteller honing an ability to tell a story through a song's poetic images. That combined with an authentic ease on stage, is what fans love about her.

She has performed nationally in clubs such as the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Seattle's Egan's Ballard jam House, Davenport's in Chicago, and in San Francisco at Yoshi’s Jazz Club, the Rrazz Room and Savanna Jazz.

Her 2008 CD release tour and CD for L ong As You’re Living: the songs & poetry of Oscar Brown, Jr., garnered rave reviews from the LA Times to the Jazz Times. Don Heckman, international jazz critic, says of Linda, she is “an amazing Bay Area canary who brings her skills as an actress to her insightful interpretations of songs.” This is the skill she brings to her teaching.

As a singers’ coach, Linda is always looking for innovative ways to coach vocalists --- in performance technique, learning how to record, or providing showcase opportunities for aspiring performers. First and foremost, Linda brings a commitment to inspire and encourage other singers to grow as performers.

Jizel Music and Design is the natural continuation of Linda's desire to give back to her community - and in addition to the performance coaching, she provides affordable graphic design services (marketing collateral and CD design) to performers and performing arts organizations. Linda lives in San Francisco with her husband, 2 dogs, 2 turtles, 3 chickens and thousands of fresh-water fish!

Visit Linda’s website for up to date news and her performance schedule.

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DAVID AUSTIN, pianist/leader/recording engineer. Dave grew up in St. Louis, Mo. His first legit musical endeavor was playing with trumpet man, Bob Danzig, a mentor of Miles Davis. He worked in Paris with Chet Baker at the famous “Chat Qui Peche” club before returning to the U.S. to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Dave has played every type of gig imaginable and has extensive restaurant and hotel experience as both a solo pianist or with his trio, the Trio de Swing. He has been musical director for many local San Francisco jazz vocalists and with them has played in San Francisco Bay Area venues such as the Rrazz Room at the Hotel Nikko, Jazz at Pearl’s, and Savanna Jazz, among others.

In his teaching career , Dave has taught piano improv at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, was on the faculty for Jazz Camp, and in the early days of the Blue Bear Music School in San Francisco, Dave was Head of the Piano Department where he started the Songwriter’s Classes and the Jazz Harmony Analysis Class. He was also on the faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia. He has been teaching jazz piano privately for over 25 years.

Dave is the founder of Diamond Audio Productions, an analogue recording and production service. In his recording studio, he has produced recordings for such local talent as Benn Bacot, Linda Kosut, Kathy Holly, Cathi Walkup, Mark Robinson, etc.

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SHANNA CARLSON / 'BOUT TIME PRODUCTIONS, singer/songwriter/jazz pianist. “Shanna Carlson is a vibrant, passionate singer... a wonderfully creative performer, who crafts a fine line between strength and sensitivity.” Marian McPartland, jazz pianist & host of NPR's "Piano Jazz"

Shanna has been singing and playing in and around the Bay Area since she was twelve when she started playing for church, moving into singing and playing in big bands, concerts, jazz festivals, recordings, musicals, radio and TV, appearing with Joe Williams, Buddy Montgomery, Bruce Forman, Joe Henderson and others. Her first CD Swing High, Swing Low featured the title track written by Carroll Coates and six originals penned with lyricist Ken McKenzie, as well as standards.

Shanna has had her own quintet performing at the San Jose Jazz Festival, Stanford Jazz Vocal Series, Pacifica Jazz Festival plus concerts at The Plush Room, Yoshi's, and cities throughout the Greater Bay Area. She has performed extensively in the U.S. and Europe.

In addition to singing, accompanying and recording in her own career, she also is a regular accompanist/teacher for JAZZ CAMP WEST summer program.

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CATHI WALKUP / BIRD'S NEST JAZZ. Cathi is a Bay Area jazz singer/songwriter who has been called "the thinking person's jazz singer" for her choice of lyric-driven songs, "a natural comedian" for her wit and ease on-stage, and an "important bop oriented singer - an excellent lyricist" by Scott Yanow, jazz writer, in his book, "The Jazz Singers, The Ultimate Guide".

She has performed nationally and internationally from tiny bistros to large concert halls; written and performed in a jazz musical, Almost Famous, The Musical with pianist/singer Shanna Carlson; produced three CDs of her own work, Night Owl, Living in a Daydream and Playing Favorites, to critical acclaim, and produced two compilation CDs featuring five Bay Area singers, and a Christmas sampler, A Songbird in a Pear Tree, featuring six Bay Area Singers.

Cathi also produces a once monthly jazz party, Bird's Nest Jazz, from her loft in Oakland, presenting some of the finest jazz artists from the Bay Area and internationally.

"Ms. Walkup casts an enchanting spell..." Donna Kimura - Jazzreview.com

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ARNALDO! DRAG CHANTEUSE. Arnaldo!, 2008 recipient of BackStage Magazine's Bistro Award, started as a soloist with the Seattle Men’s Chorus and has performed with SMC in some of the major concert halls in the US, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. In 1995, Arnaldo started a group called Cabaret Q where the “drag chanteuse” persona began. Arnaldo! began his solo cabaret shows in 1999 at Seattle’s Capitol Hill and has since performed his one person cabaret in Portland, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Puerto Vallarta and New York. Arnaldo! has also collaborated with various directors, choreographers and songwriters in the Seattle area.

In 2005, he completed the Cabaret Summer Conference Workshop at Yale University and in 2006, he spearheaded by Arnaldo! and co-founded the Pacific Northwest Cabaret Association. He continues to organize “March is Cabaret Month” featuring local and visiting artists.

"Arnaldo is not just another drag act. Arnaldo is about as close to an old time night club chanteuse as we're likely to find on today's scene." - John Hoglund, AfterDark for Cabaret Hotline NY

Arnaldo! and Linda have collaborated in leading the American Style Cabaret Workshop in Seattle since 2009.