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2021! MAKIN PLANS!

Yup, it’s time to start booking a few shows..we’re getting there. Staying safe but making plans!

And… The Cole Porter project! The maestro’s songbook wrapped in the loving arms of fiddle, mando, my old Gibson, classic upright piano, and the lusting and longing of that dobro.

On June 9th – Cole’s birthday! – we “soft” released a third song from this project: “True Love,” a duet with Cliff Eberhardt. Cliff and I have been friends for a very long time and we’re excited to finally collaborate, both of us lifelong Cole fans. Video coming soon. In the meantime you can hear the single on Spotify and on the Cole page of this site!

We are near to completion of the beautiful adventures in Cole. The completed album will be ready for release for the holiday season!

On August 13th I brought together some of the very special guests on this project to perform much of the album at the Power Station, NYC, an iconic recording studio where many of us have spent extraordinary hours. Many friends in the NYC session scene joined the studio audience. What a beautiful evening in our beloved Studio B. I must list the beautiful musicians who joined me: Keith Sewell, Viktor Krauss, Larry Campbell, Randy Brecker, Ben Stivers, Richard Hammond, Gary Schreiner, Larry Saltzman, Nicki Richards, Angela Reed, and Jeremy Beck. Roy Hendrickson and Michael Golub in the control room!

Wander over to the other side of this page to sink your teeth into our other recent Cole releases! ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” featuring Jerry Douglas on dobro and Duke Levine on guitar and mandola; and my duet with the extraordinary Keith Sewell, “Night and Day.” Making this bluegrass-y version with us are the incredible team of Sierra Hull (mando), Stuart Duncan (fiddle) and Viktor Krauss (upright). Keith sang his heart out and played some silky banjo as well.

Find these and other tracks for downloading to your listening library on Itunes, Apple Music, Amazon, and wherever digital downloads are found. And if you’re someone who loves to share music with your friends, find all of this on my Spotify page to include on your own curated playlist.

I’ve been so blessed to have so many extraordinary guests on the Cole album, old friends and new – Cat Russell, Larry Campbell, Randy Brecker, Matt Rollings, Andy Snitzer, and recently, Justin Stanton from Snarky Puppy.

A special thanks to all y’all who joined us for Club Passim’s Songwriters in the Round recently. We had a helluva time swapping stories and tunes. Thank you to Scarlet Keys and Rene Pfister for joining me, and thanks, as always to Matt and the Passim team for doing a great job. Looking forward to being in that wonderful club in person in the coming year!

We’ve also been recording songs for the new JB album. Go to the Music Player at the top of the page and listen to “If You Were Here,” featuring the stunning work of Stuart Duncan, “We Ain’t Dead Yet,” featuring Jerry Douglas, and “Thruway,” featuring Duke Levine and Richard Hammond. We leaked these unmastered yet final mixes to the Spotify page, so wander over, follow us, and take a listen. Some archival music as well from previous records, and some playlists we’ve landed on with all of the recent releases.

The world is beginning to find its way back, and we performing artists are so looking forward to being with you all to share live music experiences very very soon.

We hold our collective breath, metaphorically, for the times they are a-changing. I’m booking outdoor shows for July and I hope to see you there! Get thee to your vaccine center and open your hearts to the world that soon will be reviving itself. The way out is becoming visible, but the months at home do take their toll, don’t they?

Patience, like never before.

That show at the Cutting Room NYC – massive blowup to raise money for 2020 Fair Fight – back in January – seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it? I’ve BOOKED A FOLLOW-UP on September 27th. Our dear friends at the CR are ready to roll, and it’s a big happy thought to produce a show again of that magnitude.

Let us proceed with hope, with patience, with love and gratitude for what we have, what we may have, and what we may yet achieve, never forgetting the many thousands we have lost, and the challenging work ahead to reach across divides, face our historic faults and fears and rise up in brave new ways.

Head stays clear. Heart stays open. Driven by love, not fear. I feel that now more than ever. -JB

New Single: Night and Day

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Where to find it

Spotify
Apple
Amazon

Cole Porter Project Interview

You See This River

Info and Liner Notes CDBaby iTunes Amazon

Order direct from me with Paypal ($18, free shipping included):

It’s Brooklyn-based Americana ready to soothe your hot little souls, pump you up or cradle you, a la I’m With Her, Mumford and Sons, or Mandolin Orange.

The stories here are of the primal instinct for nostalgia, the beautiful and terrible journey up and down the river, the persistence, romanticism, and pig-headedness of humans. The title track captures this journey on the river – sometimes deliberate, sometimes meandering, indeed sometimes treacherous, with no apparent way to jump the current, all the while watched by those who choose to stand on the sidelines. All we might know for sure is that we’ll float another day.

Lydia Hutchinson of Performing Songwriter:

It’s so beautiful – the melodies, arrangements, the voice, the whole vibe. It’s so consistently good, one of those rare recordings you can listen to all the way through, every track.

Jason Velazquez of The Greylock Glass:

[Janie] released one of the very best albums in the Americana universe certainly of 2017, and likely this decade.

Paula Cole, Grammy-winning producer/artist:

[This] album is so beautiful! I love it, honored to be on it! It's touching, heartfelt, and the lyrics are wonderful. It's on replay in my car!

Upcoming Gigs

Oct 16, 2021

The Towne Crier. Beacon, NY Opening set for Kenny White

Nov 4, 2021. Club Passim Cambridge Opening for Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams

Nov 17, 2021
The Burren

Sommerville, MA. 7:30 pm
Songwriters in the Round with Rene Pfister and Genevieve

Nov 21, 2021. City Winery LOFT NYC The Cole Porter Project 1:00 brunch show Special guests TBA Proceeds towards Voting Rights groups

Nov 29, 2021 Rudy’s Jazz Club Nashville, TN. The Cole Porter Project feat Viktor Krauss, Keith Sewell, Ben Stivers, and special guests

Dec 5, 2021. City Winery NYC. Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto

guitar, vocal

BELOW TO BE RESCHEDULED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC!

March 20, 2020
Club Passim
Cambridge, MA
with Kenny White

June 7, 2020
Cutting Room
NYC
JB, Cliff Eberhardt, Julie Gold, Buskin & Batteau and special guests in a fundraising extravaganza for Stacey Abrams’ 2020 Fair Fight

June 26, 2020
St. Lawrence Arts
Portland, Maine
with Peter Gallway, in a fundraising concert for Stacey Abrahms’ 2020 Fair Fight

PAST PERFORMANCES

August 13, 2021
Power Station NYC
In-Studio showcase/ livestream The Cole Porter Project

July 23, 2021
Private House Concert
Little Washington, Va.
with Paul Guzzone

July 24, 2021
Perrywood Manor
Upper Marlboro, MD Concert on the lawn
with Paul Guzzone

July 24, 2021
Perrywood Manor LIVESTREAM
Upper Marlboro, MD LIVESTREAM/Concert on the lawn
with Paul Guzzone

July 25, 2021
Private House Concert
Martinsburg, W.Virginia
with Paul Guzzone

May 15, 2021
Pomona Cultural Center
Pomona, NY
with Paul Guzzone

March 6, 2021
Club Passim

Livestream from Passim’s page!

Songwriters in the Round with Rene Pfister and Scarlett Keys

Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
New York City
APAP Showcase 7:30 pm

Cole Porter’s Fiddle live debut

Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
APAP Showcase 8:00 pm . guitar and vocal

Jan 27, 2020
The Cutting Room . 7:30pm
Fundraising event for Stacy Abrams’ 2020FairFight
Various artists TBA

Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
New York City
APAP Showcase 7:30 pm

Cole Porter’s Fiddle live debut

Jan 12, 2020
The Cutting Room
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
APAP Showcase 8:00 pm . guitar and vocal

Nov 30, 2019
The Turning Point
Piermont, New York
with Paul Guzzone

November 11, 2019
The Red Room
New York City 9:30 pm
Sex & Romance NY Style!
JB & Shannon Conley sing Cole Porter, Ellington, and more

November 7, 2019
The Cutting Room
New York City
Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto; guitar & vocal

October 24, 2019
Barbes
Brooklyn, New York
Buschwick Book Club: songwriters read, multiple, write, perform.

July 4, 2019
Club Passim
Cambridge, MA
with Buskin and Batteau – Independence Day Party

July 19, 20, 21, 2019
The Birchmere
Alexandria, Virginia
Opening for The Bacon Brothers

Aug 21, 2019
Birdland
Vocal Mania
The Stoned Soul Picnic/Laura Nyro voices