Books : Jean Maximillien De Lafayette

CELEBRITIES OF THE YEAR: FROM THE MOST BORING TO THE MOST TALENTED

MOST TALENTED AND LUCKIEST CELEBRITIES

ISABEL ROSE

Isabel Rose, star extraordinaire , co-writer of the film Anything But Love and author of the upcoming Doubleday novel The J.A.P Chronicles (Hardcover: 256 pages. Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (May 17, 2005. ISBN: 0385512864) is a fascinating artistic phenomenon. Highly educated, cultured, sophisticated, a renaissance woman, writer, director, producer, performer, entertainer., essayist, motion picture star and your kind of a gall.

Her novel comes out in March "which she is fashioning a new show around" said her publicist, Scott Klein from Keith Sherman and Associates . Ms. Rose will also appear at Makor in February 2005. Isabel Rose is quite an extraordinary artist-entrepreneur. In addition to her multidimensional talents as a motion pictures star, writer, director, author, novelist, cabaret effervescent entertainer, Ms. Rose is a phenomenal raconteuse, a captivating story teller.  Most recently, I had  an awakening glance at this New Yorker sparkling star. HI do strongly believe that Rose is probably one of the most daring, intelligent and sweetly captivating divas. Besides, being very smart with crafty soft spoken style, Rose is "Diva Persona" a la Isabel Rose. She is real, highly talented with visions and warmth."

MOST TALENTED CELEBRITIES

JESSICA BURSTEIN

Name: Jessica Burstein. Birth Name: Jessica Burstein. Height: 5''.6''. Nationality: American. Birth Date: September 11, 1976. Birth Place: Portland, Oregon. Occupation: Actress, director, writer. Father: Neil Burstein (accountant; American; divorced 1994). Mother: Ilene Burstein (nurse; American). Claim to fame: She has appeared in six independent films, and starred as Lola in SUMMER THUNDER, currently being released on DVD by TLA. Facts: From 2002-2003, she wrote and directed her first film, VERONIKA'S BIRTHDAY, a forty-minute dramatic comedy. Ms. Burstein grew up Jewish in North Carolina, a history which influences her vision as a filmmaker.  Ms. Burstein taught video production in New York City at the YWCA La Puerta Early Learning Center, through a grant from the United Way. Presently, she is a professional observer at the Actor's Studio and co-writing her first feature with playwright Sara Saldutti. Education: Improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade, New York, New York; MFA in Photography and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts, New York, New York; BA in International Studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.   Filmography/Awards: She won a special recognition award for outstanding direction and performance at the Arizona International Film Festival in 2004 for her film VERONIKA'S BIRTHDAY.  She also won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay at the Fall 2004 Short Film Screening Series, New York, New York. Manager: Charlene Turney, 484 west 43rd street apt#11-S, New York, USA, 10036.

BIOGRAPHY SYNOPSIS: First-time filmmaker Jessica Burstein earned her MFA in Photography and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts. Ms. Burstein grew up Jewish in North Carolina, a history which influences her vision as a filmmaker. She has appeared in six independent films, and starred as Lola in SUMMER THUNDER, currently being released on DVD by TLA. Ms. Burstein taught video production in New York City at the YWCA La Puerta Early Learning Center, through a grant from the United Way. Presently, she is a professional observer at the Actor's Studio and co-writing her first feature with playwright Sara Saldutti. Jessica is on her way to the top.

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MOST TALENTED CELEBRITIES

RHE DE VILLE
 

Name: Rhe De Ville. Birth Name: Mary Frances Grabowski. Height: 5'.9". Nationality: American. Birth Date: August 15. Birth Place: Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Occupation: Singer, Actress, television series creator. Husband: Scott Schedivy (photographer).  Father: Thaddeus J. Grabowski (Polish-American). Mother: Frances DeVilbiss (Dutch-German-American). Claim to fame: Self-proclaimed, quintessential "late bloomer": "eventually your passion and talent will find success if you keep believing...." Facts: In the summer of 2002, she conceived of her television series Damsel In This Dress, began developing its concept presentation and is currently pitching it to production companies and cable channels. Education: Temple University Philadelphia, PA; Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, New York, NY; Phil Gushee, Private Study Sanford Meisner Technique, New York, NY;  Helen Baldassare, Cabaret Performance Workshop, New York, NY. Filmography:  Quick Change (Bill Murray, Geena Davis) 1990. Theatre: Off Off Broadway production, HARDBOILED, beginning January 19. 2005. Television: Urban Anxiety, pilot, Fox Television, 1992


THE DE VILLE SIGNATURE: "Rhe De Ville! This is what  and who you call "The Ultimate Diva of Elegance, Class, Glamour, Presence and Intelligent Virtuosity". This woman symbolizes the essence of refined and passionate cabaret. First class. La crème de la crème." Wrote Maximillien de Lafayette, our Editor-in-Chief and Entertainment critic.

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MOST TALENTED CELEBRITIES

RHE DE VILLE

BIOGRAPHY SYNOPSIS: The youngest of nine children, RHE DE VILLE was raised singing in a musical family.  Studying at Temple University in Philadelphia; the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York City then privately with Sanford Meisner protégé Phil Gushee, Rhe was awarded small roles in feature film and television.  She then returned to her musical roots and discovered an affinity for the songwriters and vocalists of American Popular Music of the 1920's-1950's, as well as the smoky, elegant, sophisticated glamour of New York's High Society during that time.

Soaking up Manhattan's rich cultural past, she gravitated toward these timeless classics and became passionate about breathing new life into the songs for present generations: striving to preserve their musical history as well as her own artistic integrity.  Her meticulous aesthetic and relentless passion for glamour and elegance fuel her vision of a modern-day New York High Society that still swirls, sups, cocktails, luxuriates & indulges. In 1998 she began performing at upscale Manhattan clubs and recorded her first CD, Empire State Radio With Rhe De Ville in 1999.  The success of this CD led her to top the Jazz charts on mp3.com as well as higher-profile NYC engagements.  In 2002-03, Rhe performed at Carnegie Hall with the prestigious Collegiate Chorale.  In Jan 2002, she began an intensive study with award-winning cabaret performer and instructor Helen Baldassare.

 In the spring of 2004, Rhe entertained luminaries from all over the world at the newly unveiled Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan's splashy new AOL/Time Warner Center.  She is currently pitching her original television series concept, Damsel In This Dress, to producers and cable stations.  Her second CD, Echoes Of My Heart, with original compositions by songwriter Nancy Zigelbaum. is garnering critical acclaim prior to its upcoming release in December 2004.  Currently, her 3 loves:  music, theatre, and cabaret will finally unite in HARDBOILED: her upcoming Off Off Broadway appearance opening January 2005 at the Belt Theatre in Manhattan.  Maximillien de Lafayette wrote: "Rhe De Ville, is most certainly, one of the most striking, sparkling and refined talented cabaret stars in the business. She brought class, unsurpassed intelligent talent, glamour and threatening beauty to the world of entertainment. "

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NAME:  Mary Foster Conklin. BIRTH NAME:  Mary Foster Conklin. HEIGHT:  5’.3”. NATIONALITY:  American. BIRTH DATE:  December 29, 1957. BIRTH PLACE:  New York City, New York. OCCUPATION:  Vocalist. HUSBAND:  Glenn Bowen (construction grip, currently working on “War of the Worlds”). FATHER:  Edward Foster Conklin (cardiovascular thoracic surgeon, retired). MOTHER:  Carol Francis Wedum. FACTS:  Praised by The New York Times as “a highly creative singer whose style blends cabaret and jazz so thoroughly as to defy any easy categorization.”  Her most recent recording, You’d Be Paradise, was released in September 2001 to critical acclaim, worldwide airplay and remains a jazz bestseller on www.CDBaby.com.  She is currently at work on a recording of all Matt Dennis (composer of “Angel Eyes”) music, having recently performed  a duo evening in New York City and later in Santa Monica with Los Angeles  vocalist Mark Winkler entitled “Songs of Matt Dennis and Bobby Troup” – a tribute to two of the very best composers of the West Coast Cool Jazz Movement of the 1950s.”. EDUCATION:  Connecticut College, New London, CT (majored in Theatre, Circle in the Square Professional Workshop, New York City, NY post-graduate acting program). AWARDS:  1999 Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) Award for Jazz Vocalist, Her debut CD, Crazy Eyes, was listed as one of the ten best CDs of 1998 by In Theatre Magazine, and won the 1999 Bistro Award presented by Backstage Magazine for Outstanding Recording. QUOTES: "..What can I say about this type of music I live to sing? It is a mix of styles, by composers living and dead, best experienced in a live venue. Because so much of a performance evolves beyond the set roadmap, good jazz musicians will never deliver quite the same show every night. One dreams of witnessing such spontaneous moments of well-ordered chaos. That's always what attracted me to this music, even before I started to work within the realm. That and the element of risk...I remember one of the first singing jobs I had. Instead of a set program, the musicians were just playing standards, which they all knew. Of course I quickly fell behind because, back then, I still didn't know that many. The guys all shrugged and said, "Well, you should." And they were right. Standards act as the common language, a foundation to build on -although I also remember a wisecrack about the standards from a friend who works in the Film Business - not a bad guy, actually. "Nice music," he said, "but it's kind of like Latin.

I mean, doctors use it to write prescriptions, but what else is it good for?" Oh, I don't know. Latin had its day as the universal voice that kept most of Europe from falling apart during the Dark Ages. It's the root of all of the romance languages and sings down pretty sweetly, too. But I digress. ...Recordings are pale substitutes for the real thing, but that's part of the challenge when one ventures into the studio - to capture a few of the flashes of inspiration that are the stuff live music is made of. I've been blessed to work with a great bunch of instrumentalists this time around - all composers as well as players who killed me with their music and kept me laughing when the sessions would degenerate into who knew the best dirty jokes. It's my favorite combination. Musicians love to complain about how under-appreciated they are, yet they make music anyway. They inspire me to hone my craft and then go out and hear someone else when I have a night free. Life is sweeter when the Muse wins out."

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CELEBRITIES OF THE YEAR: FROM THE MOST BORING TO THE MOST TALENTED

MOST TALENTED CELEBRITIES

MARY FOSTER CONKLIN

CONKLIN THE PHENOMENON:  "Mary Foster Conklin is a musical gem. A world-class singer. A musical hybrid flirting with 5 seasons, not four. Five seasons of musical passion, intelligence, multidimensional vocal virtuosity encompassing and embracing all  genres, styles and  intense evocation of the world of cabaret, Jazz, concerts and beyond. She is powerful, but her power is enrobed with musical warmth and affection. She is complex, for Conklin has no "dogmatized" or "limited" genre. The wealth, variety and abundance of her repertoire mocks limitation in music and daring creativity. She is graceful and blessed with a stage presence echoing the flair of Peggy Lee, BUT transcending it, for Conklin has redefined lyricism for Jazz-Cabaret aura, essence and tenderly rebellious cache. Do not attempt to categorize this super magnificent singer. She does not belong to one style. Contrary to all norms in music and musicology, all styles seem to melt in her voice. She simply sparkles, mesmerizes me, enchants me and confuses the hell out of me." Wrote Maximillien de Lafayette, our Editor-in-Chief.

BIOGRAPHY SYNOPSIS: Mary Foster Conklin has appeared in theatres, jazz clubs and cabarets in the metropolitan New York area and throughout the United States.  A New Jersey native who came to New York to pursue acting, she was a founding member and Managing Director of the American Line Theatre for six years.  Her transformation from actor to jazz singer began over ten years ago when she joined drummer/composer Art Lillard’s 15-piece Heavenly Band and her song selections naturally shifted from show tunes to blues, Latin and bebop.  As a leader, her choice of songs has always been an eclectic mix of contemporary material and standards, creating a hybrid sound that combines big band swing, straight ahead jazz, traditional pop and cabaret.  Conklin’s talents have earned her a place on the stages of The Blue Note, La Belle Epoque, Danny’s Grand Sea Palace, The Triad Theatre, as well as the yearly Cabaret Convention held by the Mabel Mercer Foundation at Town Hall and throughout the United States.  On the West Coast she has performed in San Francisco at The Plush Room, as well as the In House Jazz Series in Los Angeles and the Vic in Santa Monica. She has appeared in Chicago at the Cultural Center and at Park West. Praised by THE NEW YORK TIMES as "a highly creative singer whose style blends cabaret and jazz so thoroughly as to defy any easy categorization." (Terry Teachout). A New Jersey native, she received the 1999 MAC Award for Jazz Vocalist. Her debut recording 'Crazy Eyes' was listed as one of the ten best CDs of 1998 by IN THEATRE Magazine and won the 1999 Bistro Award presented by BACKSTAGE for Outstanding Recording. Her latest project 'You'd Be Paradise' is backed by the quartet of Frank Vignola on guitar, Jon Burr on bass, Bill Mays on piano and Joe Ascione on drums and includes material by such diverse composers as Cole Porter, Tom Waits, Matt Dennis, Stan Getz, Michel Legrand, Bob Dorough and David Cantor. "Mary Foster Conklin shows with her second album that she is one of the most underrated jazz singers working today. Her wonderful unique voice grabs you immediately and doesn't let go. She finds songs from songwriters like Bob Dorough and the amazing David Cantor and infuses them with an amazing amount of musical personality. Highly recommended to all lovers of vocal jazz." (Steve Rubin "Stolen Moments", KZYX & Z, Mendocino County Public Broadcasting). "With this album, Mary Foster Conklin continues her shift from cabaret to jazz singer without losing the better qualities of the former. She retains her excellent diction, showing proper respect for lyrics. But she also uses vocal maneuvers unique to jazz: clever phrasing, pausing for effect, and working to make her voice become one of the instruments... This session is a fortuitous coming together of the vocal art, outstanding instrumental playing, and a play list of notable songs to perform. Highly recommended." - (Dave Nathan - All Music Guide).

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MOST TALENTED CELEBRITIES

LAUREN FIELD

Name: Lauren Field Height: 5'.7''. Nationality: British. Birth Date: July 15, 1962. Birth Place: London, England. Occupation: Singer/songwriter. Husband: Charles Foskett (British record producer).  Father: John Field (Financial advisor). Mother: Yvonne Field (Chocolatier – retired and artist). Son: Gabriel, 10 years. Daughter: India, 6 years. Claim to fame: Has sung with some of the world’s best known artists including Petula Clarke, Bonnie Tyler, Cliff Richard, Elvis Costello and John Farnham.  Debut album – “Modern Woman”. Facts: Having had a successful career as a session singer and after taking a break to bring up two children, she is now enjoying promoting her debut album released last year. It is being released across Europe in February 2005, and she will be touring Europe from early in the New Year.  She is also in the middle of writing and recording her next album. Education: Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Kensington, London, United Kingdom. Also specialised in voice production and voice therapy and studied all forms of dance at the Urdang, Pineapple and Dance works. Record Labels: Shmusicmusic UK. ZYX Records, Germany. Label Management: Right Recordings Ltd.  Website: www.shmusicmusic.com

Biography Synopsis: Lauren began her career treading the boards as an actress. She trained at one of the world’s most prestigious Drama Academies – The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to perform in musical revues and musicals in London’s West End. Lauren told me: “I loved acting, but singing was the love of my life. It was what inspired me, what drove me. I gradually became more and more involved in singing work. I grabbed the MD of a show I was doing at “The Duke of York’s Theatre” in St Martin’s Lane and said, come and do some gigs with me.

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MOST TALENTED CELEBRITIES

LAUREN FIELD

So we started playing in Clubs and hotels and bars. We’d do a really camp set, a mixture of show tunes, old disco numbers and big ballads. We played a weekly gig in Covent Garden every Friday night. We were a real hit there and it would get crowded with students (a complete fire hazard – once in there was no way out till the end of the night) and one night my future partner, record producer Charles Foskett walked in  - and you could say that our eyes met across a crowded room, but actually he had a glass of red wine spilt down his white suit and couldn’t wait to get out! But he gave me his card and said call me, I’ve got some work for you.” Previous Lauren's showbiz and television credits include the BBC's "TOP OF THE POPS", Britain's best known and longest running music show, PEBBLE MILL and THE TUBE. Her live performances include shows at the West End's ADELPHI THEATRE, Covent Garden's ROCK GARDEN for “DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES” and THE LAUGHING CACTUS CLUB at THE WATER RAT’S THEATRE in Kings Cross. She performed live for both regional, national and international radio including many one hour jazz standards sessions for radio 2 and her own compositions for the BBC and GLR. In addition, Lauren provided distinctive back-up vocals for many well-known National and International artists including: Bonnie Tyler, Petula Clarke, The Who, Kim Wilde, Holly Johnson, Elkie Brookes, John Parr, Elvis Costello, Cliff Richard and John Fernham. But, Lauren had to create her own musical identity. For, honestly, she is as good as those stars and big names in the business. SO? One way to do it. Go all the way and release a great CD/Album. And she did it! Lauren said: "The only trouble was, I was so busy singing back up for other artists, I didn’t feel I was progressing with my own solo career. So in early 1990 I decided, no more. I put an eight piece band together and we toured the country. All my own songs – a kind of country, rock, blues hybrid. It was exactly what was not happening in England at that time.

We did some great gigs but we were broke. So we mixed it up with functions and festivals, culminating in a huge beer festival. I was eight months pregnant! A week later I gave birth to a baby boy – he was four weeks premature. With all that racket I am sure he was thinking – “Get me out of here!” I wrote to producer extraordinaire Charles Foskett and asked him to tell me something, anything funny and unusual about Lauren. Charles told me this  about Lauren" The most recent story, I think, displays Lauren’s trooper form of professionalism, and I know she won’t mind me repeating it, as she, with her inimitable self-deprecating sense of humour, saw the funny side. In June, Lauren and her band performed at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London with a host of celebrities for the Teenage Cancer Trust. After playing a storming set she was invited to join Randy Bachman on stage, to sing one of their co-written tunes, followed by two of Randy’s big hits to close out the first half of the evening. Along with Randy’s wife, Denise McCann, Lauren sang back up on “Taking Care of Business” and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”. The final tune proved prophetic. During a somewhat over-energetic performance on a hot and steamy stage, the very flimsy top that Lauren was wearing gradually slipped down and finally off.

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MOST TALENTED AND LUCKIEST CELEBRITIES

TORI AMOS

Name: Tori Amos. Birth Name: Myra Ellen Amos. Nationality: American. Birth Date: August 22, 1963. Birth Place: Newton, North Carolina, USA. Occupation: Actress, musician. Husband: Mark Hawley (married on February 22, 1998)  Father: Edison Amos (methodist minister). Mother: Mary Ellen Amos.

 BIOGRAPHY: Born Myra Ellen Amos, 22 August 1963, North Carolina, USA. Amos was compared early in her career to everyone from Kate Bush to Joni Mitchell. She began playing the piano aged two-and-a-half, and was enrolled in Baltimore's Peabody Institute as a five-year-old prodigy. Legend has it that she was formally ejected for "playing by ear" the songs of John Lennon and the Doors, following six years study. After failing an audition to gain re-entry, Amos concentrated on the bar circuit of Washington, DC, which she continued to do throughout her high-school years, gradually moving to better venues and adding her own material. In 1980, aged 17, she released (under her real name, Ellen Amos) her first single "Baltimore"/"Walking With You" on the MEA label (named after her own initials). She favoured cover versions such as Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You", Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", later staples of her 90s live set. Amos then adopted the first name Tori, after a friend's boyfriend's remark that she "didn't look much like an Ellen, more like a Tori". Still the dozens of demo tapes she had recorded since her early teens (mostly sent out by her doting father) failed to give her a break, and she switched tack to front pop-rock band Y Kant Tori Read (a play on words that referred to her previous expulsion from the conservatory). Musicians in the band included guitarist Steve Farris (ex- Mr. Mister ), Matt Sorum (future Cult and Guns N'Roses drummer), Vinny Coliauta ( Frank Zappa ), Peter White (co-writer to Al Stewart ) and Kim Bullard (ex- Poco ), but the production and material (largely co-composed between Bullard and Amos) did her few favours. Amos lowered her profile for a while after this undignified release, though she did appear on albums by Stewart, Canadian songwriter Ferron and Stan Ridgway.

As she remembers, "After the trauma I crumbled. I was very confused about why I was doing music." Nevertheless, she persevered in writing her own songs, and eventually a tape of these reached Atlantic Records' co-chairman, Doug Morris. Though he saw the germ of her talent, he decided that her current sound was to the taste of the average American-FM listener, and sent Amos instead to the UK (and East West Records) so that she might enjoy a better reception. Amos moved to London in February 1991 and started playing small-scale gigs around the capital. Her "debut" EP, Me And A Gun, was released in October 1991, and tackled the emotive and disturbing topic of her rape by an armed "fan" as she drove him home after a gig. An acclaimed debut album, Little Earthquakes, followed in January 1992, although the comparisons to Kate Bush continued (not helped by a similar cover design). Much of the following year was spent writing and recording a second album with co-producer and partner Eric Rosse. The result, Under The Pink, included a guest appearance from Trent Reznor ( Nine Inch Nails ), and was recorded in his new home - the house where in 1969 Sharon Tate was murdered by Charles Manson's followers. The first single lifted from it, "Cornflake Girl", reached number 4 in the UK charts in January 1994. The follow-up, "Pretty Good Year", reached number 7 in March, and with the album topping the UK chart Amos confirmed she was now a commercial force. She was heralded in the press, alongside Polly Harvey ( PJ Harvey ) and Bj”rk, as part of a new wave of intelligent, literate female songwriters. This was cemented with the release of the sexually charged Boys For Pele. Quite apart from having a baby pig suckling on her breast on the cover, the lyrics were a powerful combination of artistic and erotic liberation. Armand Van Helden's remix of "Professional Widow" gained a huge club following and secured Amos a UK number 1 hit. Several of the songs on the follow-up, From The Choirgirl Hotel, were informed by Amos' recent miscarriage. The album proved to be her most mature and musically adventurous to date, Amos recording with a full band for the first time. A prolific songwriting burst led to the release of the double To Venus And Back the following year.
 

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