SONGSTRESS MICHELLE BERTING BRETT RETURNS TO MUSICAL ROOTS WITH
NEW JAZZ, TORCH & ANCIENT POP ALBUM, AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 3
Best-Known for Fronting the Successful National Touring Show
We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered
Release Celebration Concert Set for Toronto on November 8, 2023
Canadian songstress Michelle Berting Brett’s musical theatre and nightclub career took an unexpected turn when the quality of her voice was repeatedly compared to that of the late Karen Carpenter. She parlayed those compliments into a highly successful touring show called We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered, which has played performing arts centers, theatres, and casino showrooms all over the U.S. since 2013. Now, Berting Brett is returning to her musical roots with a new CD that revisits the beloved songs that comprised her original nightclub repertoire and a special Album release celebration show at Revival in Toronto, one of the places at which she once performed regularly.
Entitled Jazz, Torch & Ancient Pop, the set list for the new album is an eclectic mix of songs from Berting Brett’s expansive career in pop, jazz, and musical theatre. It will be available on November 3 from her website and via all digital platforms.
“In the early years of my career, I would do cabaret shows that mainly featured songs from musical theatre,” she explains. “As I explored a wider repertoire, I searched for a way to describe what the audience would experience at one of my shows. I came up with ‘Jazz, Torch & Ancient Pop’ -- jazz standards mixed with classic American songbook, torch songs, old pop tunes in jazzy arrangements, and even the occasional Carpenters’ hit. The first show with this title was back in 1997, and I’ve used it ever since. For me, it was the obvious title for the album.”
The twelve songs on the new album range from musical theatre classics like “If I Were a Bell” from Guys and Dolls and “Just in Time” from Bells Are Ringing to the Gershwins’ timeless “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer’s immortal “Moon River.” She mixes up the collection with the pop hit theme song from the 1967 film To Sir with Love, imbuing it with a Latin arrangement, the jazz standard “Skylark,” and even the Carpenters’ “Close to You” with a new, jazzy arrangement.
The JAZZ, TORCH & ANCIENT POP album has been a back-burner project for Michelle for quite some time. “The three musicians playing on it—Rob Thaller on piano, Drew Birston on bass, and Jay Boehmer on drums—are the same guys I came up with in the Toronto clubs,” Michelle explains. “The last time I performed ‘Jazz, Torch, & Ancient Pop’ in Toronto, back in 2017, we had a twenty-year reunion show, and this CD has really been in the works ever since.” Boehmer co-produced the album with Michelle, which was recorded at the Canterbury Music Co. in Toronto.
“The boys and I settled right back in with each other in the studio as if no time had passed,” Michelle says. “Recording the songs was such a pleasure because playing with them is like a mindreading experience. We know each other so well and are so comfortable working together—it’s a tremendous gift, and I’ve missed this part of my career and life.”
The album release celebration show at Revival in Toronto on November 8 will be a memorable evening as Michelle returns to the songs she’s always loved to sing. “I’ve been so focused on the Carpenters shows for the past decade and have had great success with it. It will be so nice to perform this repertoire from my musical roots live in concert.”
Michelle Berting Brett grew up a farmer’s daughter in Saskatchewan, Canada, where her desire to perform as a singer and actor blossomed. She harmonized with her musician father on his favorite country tunes and sang daily with her siblings while doing daily chores. Like many musicians, her first public performances were in church. She received a full scholarship to attend Dickinson State University in North Dakota, studying opera and theatre, and followed that as an award-winning graduate of the Music Theatre program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario.
Once Michelle established Toronto as her home base, she began performing in musicals. Eventually, she created her nightclub show, “Jazz, Torch & Ancient Pop,” which became well-known on the Toronto club circuit. During that time, she was told repeatedly that she sounded like Karen Carpenter, and with the encouragement and help of her now-husband, producer Mark Brett, they created a one-woman show based on the songs of the Carpenters. The original show was played at a club in Toronto with Berting Brett accompanied only by a pianist in 2009. That little cabaret show evolved into the touring production We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered, which has played significant showrooms all over the United States, including Las Vegas and Downey, California, the Carpenters’ hometown. The festive holiday version, Merry Christmas Darling: Carpenters’ Christmas, based around their iconic Christmas albums, plays during the winter months.
Revival is located at 783 College Street, Toronto, ON M6G 1C5.
Tickets will be available at the door.
For more information: michellebertingbrett.com
JAZZ, TORCH & ANCIENT POP will be available on November 3 at MichelleBertingBrett.com and via all digital platforms.
JAZZ, TORCH & ANCIENT POP
TRACKLIST:
1. If I Were a Bell (from the musical Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser)
2. Lady Is a Tramp
3. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
4. Frenesi (Spanish song adapted as a jazz standard)
5. (They Long to Be) Close to You (the Carpenters’ first #1 hit)
6. Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller)
7. To Sir with Love (theme from the movie)
8. Just in Time (from the musical Bells Are Ringing by Jule Styne)
9. Skylark
10. Undun (Hit song from The Guess Who)
11. They Can’t Take That Away From Me (George & Ira Gershwin)
12. Moon River (Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer)
For more information, visit:
Facebook: @MichelleBertingBrettOfficial
Instagram: @MichelleBertingBrett
Twitter: @MichelleBBrett
Website: MichelleBertingBrett.com
Upcoming We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered tour dates:
Wednesday, January 31 - Sunday, February 4, 2024 - Don's Celebrity Theatre, Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino, Laughlin, NV
Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Busch Hall - Travelers Rest Resort, Dade City, FL
Friday, February 23, 2024, Hastings Performing Arts Center, Hastings, MI
Thursday, April 25, 2024, An Acoustic Celebration, Carpenters 55th, Downey, CA (Private Event)
Upcoming Merry Christmas Darling: Carpenters’ Christmas 2023 tour dates:
Saturday, December 2, The Norwood Theatre, Norwood, MA
Tuesday, December 5, Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, NY
Saturday, December 16, Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, Pinellas Park, FL
Wednesday, December 20, Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, Indiana, PA
Friday, December 22 Wolf Den, Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
For more information, visit: WeveOnlyJustBegunShow.com
For music, photos, and media information, contact:
Sharon Weisz, W3 Public Relations
w3pr@yahoo.com ǀ 323-934-2700
www.w3publicrelations.com
