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2022! MAKIN PLANS!
Happy halfway through winter, my friends. Amazing, right? Let’s hang in there, Omicron numbers going down.
So it’s Livestream time! We’re setting up at Euphoria Studios in NYC, I’m bringing the fairy lights and we’ll play some tunes from every corner of the spectrum. Even inviting requests. Thursday March 3, 7pm sharp. Join us on my FB page and bring your friends for the online conversation. We promise a great quality stream and of course bring your favorite snack and beverage. I know I will.
And mark your calendars for a live show! City Winery Loft NYC on March 27th. A brunch celebration of the New Year and the Cole Porter project. We are planning lots of guest duet partners and a killer band. If you are not on the mailing list to receive more info please write us through this site!
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. ONE MORE duet partner to secure and this thing is done. In today’s world we all ponder whether projects need to be pressed into hard copy CDs, vinyl, or remain purely digital. I still buy CDs even though I often listen to the same artist through Spotify. An investment in the artist’s ability to keep doing what they do.
In between all the Cole activity I was thrilled, in November, to join my friends Larry Campbell and Theresa Williams at their sold-out show at Club Passim – a beloved venue that has offered a sacred space for roots music for many decades. I was joined by Larry and the wondrous Robin Batteau during my set for a special rendering of “True Love” – one of the Cole songs I love to add to any set of original music. Grateful to all of you who joined us that night.
On Nov 29th we took the Cole project to Nashville and played the very vibey Rudy’s Jazz Club, where I saw lots of dear friends in the audience. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining us. It was the show where, afterwards, I shrieked to the brilliant Ben Stivers: “I’m never doing this show without you!!”
This fall we released the Cole duet “You’re The Top” with the truly great Catherine Russell. Cat and I have known each other a long time on the NY session scene, and I was thrilled she was up for participating. Find that cut on the Spotify page. And become a listener officially, please!
On June 9th – Cole’s birthday! – we released “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. In the meantime you can hear the single on Spotify and on the Cole page of this site! And PLEASE take a look at the new video for this cut, over there on the right side of this page. Some really cool archival footage found by master video editors Anana Kaye and Irakli G.
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.
This fall I was joined by Rene Pfister and Genevieve for a Songwriters in the Round at the iconic Burren Back Room. We had so much fun – all three of us are chatterboxes so the laughs abounded. A surprise guest my dear friend Robin Batteau joined us onstage for the closing song, my “We Ain’t Dead Yet.” Damnit, we ain’t!
And 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.
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.
We hold our collective breath, metaphorically, for the times they are a-changing. 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’m planning my next extravaganza for Fair Fight and Stacey’s run for Governor – some time this spring! 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
Where to find it
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!
SHOWS
March 3, 2022
Live Stream from Euphoria Studios NYC 7pm sharp Go to JB’s Facebook page! ft Larry Slappy Saltzman, Ben Stivers & Richard Hammond Proceeds towards Voting Rights Groups
March 27th, 2020 City Winery LOFT NYC The Cole Porter Project 1:00 brunch show doors @ 11:30 Special guests TBA Proceeds towards Voting Rights groups
PAST PERFORMANCES
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 29, 2021
Rudy’s Jazz Club Nashville, TN. The Cole Porter Project ft Viktor Krauss, Keith Sewell, Ben Stivers, Justin Weaver, Billy Contreras
Dec 5, 2021. The Cutting Room Stoned Soul Picnic featuring Diane Garisto
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
with Dennis Collins, James Maddock, Kenny White, Bette Sussman, JB
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