Betty Buckley and Kenny Werner

Broadway legend Betty Buckley will be making her Yoshi's debut beginning Jan. 8--10 with her long time collaborator legendary jazz great, Kenny Werner. Their most recent CD, "QUINTESSENCE", released this past spring is a stunning tribute to Buckley's almost nineteen year working relationship with Werner. This album is the pair's ninth album together and is a perfect bookend to the recently released "Betty Buckley 1967", released October, 2007 , also by Playbill Records/Sony BMG.  Werner & Buckley will be supported for their Yoshi's engagement by two renowned San Francisco musicians, Peter Barshay on bass and Alan Hall on drums.  

"Quintessence", reflects the seasoned finesse and musical virtuosity of the two collaborators and their long time quintet —a performance that travels the artistic landscape of one of the most distinguished and celebrated performers of today with her incredible arranger, pianist and musical director, the world renowned Werner.  

At Yoshi's fans of Betty Buckley and Kenny Werner can expect a beautiful musical welcome to the new year and an early valentine of story songs about life, love and change. The show will be constructed from selections of their vast repertoire and the latest CD and potentially include a smoky, jazz-infused version of the famous Sergio Mendes and Bergman's collaboration, So Many Stars and an achingly "hushed" version of Get Here, the hit song made famous by Oleta Adams. In between is a magical mix of music that takes the dramatic range and thea trics of Buckley's voice and infuses it with the jazz influence of the masterful Werner and the skillful trio of musicians..

Buckley and Werner are also featured on a special podcast series discussing Quintessence and their creative process which is available on masterworksbroadway.com, playbill.com, iTunes and other podcast forums.  

Buckley and Werner's unique interpretations of jazz and standards, eclectic songs from the great American Songbook and by contemporary singer/songwriters, Brazilian songs and musical theatre milestones are a diverse collection of tunes culled from the best of their critically acclaimed concerts and cabaret shows around the world at venues as from Carnegie Hall to NYC's famed Blue Note Jazz Club and the elegant Feinstein's cabaret at the Regency Hotel in NYC.

Their recent recording like their evening in concert offers truly original renditions of songs performed with a fresh approach, a chemistry and alchemy coming from years spent together performing across the nation and around the world.

"I have such appreciation for the work that has come from the almost two decades I've spent working with Kenny. He has been by my side for some of the most treasured moments of my career, and for that I am truly grateful," said Buckley.

Buckley describes their musical choices as "paintings with sound." In fact, she used paintings to illustrate what she envisioned for each song as she and Werner discussed the "feel" for each of the unique arrangements.  
 
The year 2008 was a landmark one for Buckley.  She recently co-starred with Mark Wahlberg. Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo and received rave reviews for her work as Mrs. Jones in the recently released film from director M. Night Shyamalan entitled "The Happening".

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The "Quintessence" CD and "Betty Buckley 1967" were both released by Playbill Records/Sony BMG. "1967" features a nineteen year old Buckley in her first ever studio recording engineered by then nineteen year old and now multi-Grammy award winning producer, T Bone Burnett . The resulting eleven tracks expose the young abandon and whimsical charisma of a girl who will one day become one of the Great White Way's greatest talents.

More on Betty Buckley:
Through her dazzling and acclaimed work in such musicals as Cats, 1776, Carrie, Song & Dance, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Pippin, and Triumph of Love, Tony Award winner Betty Buckley is one of a small handful of performers synonymous with Broadway.

And, with her recent successes as Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard and as Mama Rose in Gypsy, Buckley remains the quintessential leading lady of the American musical theatre.  She has received a Tony award,  a second Tony nomination, an Olivier nomination and two Grammy nominations. She was recently inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame for her body of work in film and television and has received two Honorary doctorates for her contribution to the Musical Theatre.

For anyone who has ever heard Buckley sing, it is evident she possesses one of the finest, and perhaps the most unique, instruments in the musical theatre: a voice of supple steel, capable of piercing the soul with either its razor-edged belt or ethereal upper register.

She has been called "The voice of Broadway!"by New York Magazine and the Hollywood Reporter has declared her voice "...one of the wonders of the world."