Laughing at Life, track by track! "Laughing at Life"
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
Release Date: 02/28/2017
Episode 34: D is for Duchess, with our pal/mixologist, Grant Gardner
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
It's a very special happy hour! We're continuing our alphabetic sojourn through the world of cocktails with a bespoke libation: the Duchess, created especially for us by the Jazz Standard's master mixologist (and erstwhile jazz guitarist) Grant Gardner (no relation to Hilary, as far as we can tell). Tune in for the story behind our eponymous tipple, which is (we say immodestly) as effervescent, elegant, and fun at parties as we are.
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Episode 33: “Feel the burn!” Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer rocks our wine world
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
We are joined by Master Sommelier, drummer, Toto super-fan, and Hilary's erstwhile coworker, Fred Dexheimer for a funny, far-reaching chat about all things Bacchic. Being happy tipplers ourselves, we loved Fred's riffing on the many parallels between enjoying wine and making music. Fred's no stranger to hijinks, and it's safe to say a good time was had by all when we taped this episode. [Full disclosure: we are drinking rosé THE ENTIRE TIME.]
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Episode 32: “I’ll do my best to free them, but first I want to see them,” with guest Kate McGarry
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
We are joined by Grammy-nominated songwriter, singer, and educator Kate McGarry for a far-reaching conversation about carrying the weight of our ancestors, being present and generous onstage, creating community, and much more (including sitting in the Kennedy family pew at church during her Massachusetts childhood). Kate is a true singers' singer and a beautiful spirit; her definition of harmony as "energetic alignment" is as elegant as it is concise.
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Episode 31: “Malleability, focus, and…fun!” with guest Laila Biali
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
Juno-nominated singer, pianist, songwriter, and radio host Laila Biali chats with us backstage at Birdland before her recent NYC show promoting her new self-titled album. Tune in to hear how a classically trained kid from Vancouver wound up gigging with Sting (and surreptitiously snapping photos during dinner at his Tuscan villa).
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“I’d be nowhere without my friends,” with guest Catherine Russell
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
Get ready for a master class on singing and life with Grammy-winning vocalist (and all-around beautiful and wise human being) Catherine Russell. Cat has shared the stage with David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, and Steely Dan (to name but a few) and, with half a dozen critically acclaimed recordings under her belt, is one of the most dynamic jazz and blues singers of our time. Cat shares insights about how she chooses the songs she sings, the importance of being a musical archaeologist, and the live-saving properties of music.
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"Always being the cute little kid is not good for you," with guest Nat Wolff
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
We're going to Hollywood! We chat with singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, erstwhile standup comic, and (oh, yeah!) MOVIE STAR Nat Wolff about his childhood music lessons with Duchess's very own Amy Cervini, what it was like growing up in show business, the importance of being nice, and the time he got pranked by Robert De Niro.
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“Laughing and crying, you know it’s the same release,” with guest Jessica Molaskey
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
We sit down with singer, actor, radio host, painter, and urbane woman-about-town Jessica Molaskey. In our chat, Jessica shares her lifelong love of Joni Mitchell and Stephen Sondheim, the joys of genre-hopping, and the fine art of trusting one’s intuition.
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Winter Blues
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
The Duchess gals discuss winter, winter blues and how to avoid them.
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"Going Home" - Laughing at Life Track by Track!
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
In this week’s episode we discuss a vinyl-only bonus track “Going Home,” Hebrew "R" sound pronunciation, and Dvorak's "From The New World" symphony. Also included is a seldom-heard English Horn imitation by our arranger/producer Oded Lev-Ari.
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He leaves us breathless...with guest John Dokes
Harmony and Hijinks with Duchess
We sit down for a long-anticipated chat with one of our favorite people and vocalists, Mr. John Dokes. In true Clark Kent fashion, John is a high-powered business executive by day (after a stint as a marketing exec and comic book creator at Marvel comics, he's now Chief Marketing Officer of Accuweather) and a jazz singer and swing dancer by night.
info_outlineWe continue our song-by-song exploration of our newly-released album, Laughing at Life, with this episode's chat about the title track made famous by Ruth Etting in 1930. Our producer/arranger, Oded Lev-Ari, talks about his concept for the arrangement and some of the tricks he used including inspiration from a thesaurus, Count Basie and Duchess’ own phrasing.