-----Original Message-----
From: yvoelker@aol.com
Sent: May 27, 2008 1:07 PM
To: yvoelker@aol.com
Subject: The Pfister Sisters are Puttin’ It On!
The Pfister Sisters are Puttin’ It On!
This summer, The Pfister Sisters will be performing at the Ascona Jazz Festival from June 27th to July 6th, followed by a month-long engagement from July 18 to August 17, at the Bar-jeder Vernunft Cabaret Theater in Berlin, Germany. Here’s your chance to wish us well and see us on our way! We’re also celebrating the release of our latest CD, “Puttin’ It On.”
Join us for our CD Release/ Bon Voyage/ Gemini Birthday Celebration at
SnugHarbor on Thursday, May 29 - shows at 8 and 10
624 Frenchmen St, 949-0696 for reservations
www.pfistersisters.com
info@pfistersisters.com
The Pfister Sisters are pleased to announce the release of their fourth full length studio recording, "Puttin' It On," a collection of 14 pop favorites from the 1920's, 30's and 40's featuring their signature harmonized vocals in the manner of New Orleans' own Boswell Sisters, originators of the style here early in the 20th Century.
Upon returning to their beloved city in October, 2005, The Pfister Sisters were among the first musicians to perform regularly again in post-Katrina New Orleans. Because of both the lack of paying gigs and available musicians, the sisters found themselves working mostly in their "core-4" formation, with piano as their only accompaniment.
As other musicians returned to town, they would often pop into the Pfisters’ regular Wednesday night performances, sit in for a few songs, then head on to their own gigs. Pianist, Amasa Miller, first suggested doing a CD that "sounds like we sound now" and "Puttin’ It On" was born.
Showcasing vocals and piano, with touches of Matt Perrine (Bonerama, The Tin Men) on sousaphone and bass, Matt Johnson (Hot Club of New Orleans) on guitar, and Matt Rhody (Hot Club of New Orleans, New Orleans Jazz Vipers) on violin, "Puttin’ It On" was recorded in the same manner as the original Boswell recordings, with the three vocalists mixing themselves clustered around one vintage RCA microphone. The warmth and blend of the vocal sound make this CD stand out from their previous recordings.
The Pfisters also hired a producer for the first time – long time musician, producer, teacher, and recording and visual artist, Spencer Bohren.
"When first approached with the idea of producing an album for New Orleans’ sensational songstresses, the Pfister Sisters, I was excited by the challenge of capturing the marvelous vocal subtleties and daring three-part musical acrobatics of the Crescent City's favorite close harmony singers. In the process of recording this excellent selection of songs, I was continually amazed by their discriminating musical sense and refined feel for the dynamics of song. If you are already familiar with the group, you will say, "Yowzah!" If it’s your first date, you will absolutely fall in love with the Pfister Sisters."
The Pfister Sisters’ “Puttin’ It On” CD Release will be celebrated at SnugHarbor on Thursday, May 29, with shows at 8 and 10pm.
Contact: Yvette M. Voelker, yvoelker@aol.com, 504-452-3657
Website information: www.pfistersisters.com,
www.myspace.com/thepfistersisters
Boswell Sisters info – www.bozzies.com, www.lmhof.org (includes footage of the recent induction of the Boswell Sisters into the La. Music Hall of Fame at the Pfister Sisters French Quarter Festival performance.)
Media Mentions:
“I walked in as the Pfister Sisters were starting to sing Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade” and felt like I had drifted into heaven. . . A huge treat.”
- Lynette Johnson, Lagniappe, Times Picayune, August, 25, 2006
But another song, performed on stage by an all-women's swing group, the Pfister Sisters, did not go unnoticed.
It sums up the mood of the city while it collectively crosses its fingers and waits for its levees to be repaired - River Stay Away From My Door.
BBC News, May 6, 2008
Get into That New Orleans Groove at home.
Can't get to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival? Create your own. . . 2 dozen current discs by a diverse cross section of regional favorites playing this year's fest.
The Pfister Sisters, Puttin' It On. Yvette Voelker, Debbie Davis and Holley Bendtsen re-create the jazz harmony vocals popularized by the Boswell Sisters during the New Orleans swing era of the 1920's and 30's."
USA Today, May 2, 2008
“The Pfister Sisters are exactly what music SHOULD be...they bring joy to your soul, harmony to your ears, and the best and biggest boogie-woogie to your feet. No part of you can stand still when they start singing! Run, do not walk, to hear them whenever you can!”
Correspondence from Amanda McBroom
(cabaret singer/ songwriter/ composer of Bette Midler’s hit song “The Rose”)
"If any group could ever represent the sweetness and slightly naughty nature of New Orleans's fairer sex, it would, no doubt, be the Pfister Sisters."
Alan Smason, Gambit Weekly Theater Reviewer
Kosher Computing Jazz Fest blog, May 5, 2008