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Julie Christensen

Versatility has never been a problem or a pose for singer Julie Christensen, whose voice found a home in the L.A. post-punk band Divine Horsemen and, for years, as a spotlighted singer with Leonard Cohen. With Something Familiar, her third CD, she adds another genre feather to the cap: jazz. Singing standards, and in her own signature style, is actually nothing new for the vocalist. In her sundry travels, geographically and musically, she has dipped into the Great American Songbook for years, from her native Iowa to years spent in Austin and Los Angeles, and onto her current life, based in Ojai, California. Something Familiar is more than a standards festival. The album title itself is taken from a fascinating Jimmy Webb-penned rarity, “Just Like Marilyn,” There is also the original “Hard to Love,” and a gritty-bluesy workout, “Today I Sing the Blues.” With her keyboardist and longtime creative cohort Karen Hammack, Christensen tracked in Brooklyn with noted jazz drummers Jeff Ballard and Kenny Wollesen, alongside bassists Mary Ann McSweeney and Don Falzone. Back on the west coast, trumpeter Jeff Elliott and pedal steel guitarist-of- note Greg Liesz added their spices to the mix. The end result is a fresh twist on old musical values, something familiar yet also otherwise.

Christensen’s first solo album should have been released in 1990, after she worked on it with producer Todd Rundgren at his Bearsville studio. Alas, the album got caught up in record company snafus and it has remained on the shelves all these years. Meanwhile, Christensen took the DIY route and made two fine albums, Love is Driving (1997) and Soul Driver (2001), on her own Stone Cupid label.
Among Christensen’s present musical activities, her connection to Leonard Cohen’s world continues, as a featured member of the Cohen tribute projects produced by Hal Willner. The tribute’s Sydney Opera House concerts became the core of the acclaimed documentary, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, featuring Christensen and her longtime ally (and fellow Ojai- an) Perla Batalla on the classic Cohen song “Anthem.” The Came So Far for Beauty concert series in fact just held two performances in Dublin, Ireland on October 4th and 5th, and Julie again participated, along with Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Jarvis Cocker and many others.

Christensen’s re-entry into her solo career is coming on strong. Where the Fireworks Are, a companion album worked on simultaneously with Something Familiar, is in the finishing stages.

Gear

I write songs on an Acrosonic acoustic piano or my Larrivee Parlor guitar.


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Album Review

Julie Christensen: Sometihing Familiar

Read "Sometihing Familiar" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


Julie Christensen is a jazz vocalist with a very non-jazz past, who can easily win you over with her unusual delivery and choice of material.

Something Familiar begins with Jimmy Webb's obscure “Just Like Marilyn," and seems about as far away from a jazz opener as one can get. By the time Christensen segues into Frank Loesser's “Never Will I Marry," from the Broadway musical, Greenwillow, there's the feeling that good things could be ahead. A ...

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2

Interview

For Americana Recording Artist, Julie Christensen, Cathartic Journey Prompts Album -- Weeds Like Us -- While New Leonard Cohen Biography Marks Her Role In Legendary Career

For Americana Recording Artist,  Julie Christensen, Cathartic Journey Prompts Album -- Weeds Like Us -- While New Leonard Cohen Biography Marks Her Role In Legendary Career

Source: KJPR Publicity and Artist Relations

Julie Christensen'S “WEEDS LIKE US” CD Candidly Reveals a Cathartic Journey of Loss and Survival Bringing “Great Plains Soul” to Acclaimed Career of Americana Singer-Songwriter While Release of New Leonard Cohen Biography Documents Christensen's Pivotal, Musical Role in Legendary Career Los Angeles, CA: It is a busy season for Julie Christensen, whose critically-acclaimed recordings, and longtime backing vocals for Leonard Cohen, confirm her standing as a quintessential “Americana” artist who matters. Now, her body of work has taken a decidedly ...

“Julie Christensen is one of the truer singers you’ll ever hear - -straight up, no mannerisms, perfect taste; listen to her takes on “But Beautiful,” “Stolen Moments” and “Blame It on My Youth,” from her piercing new Something Familiar, and recognize how she could sing with both Leonard Cohen and Chris D. “ (Greg Burk) L.A. WEEKLY
“... from angelic, folky charm to truly badass bluesy wails; ...one of the loveliest voices in contemporary music”—LA WEEKLY
Primary Instrument

Vocals

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Private instruction of all types of vocal students. Available weekdays and some evenings. Copy and paste this link to sign up: http://stonecupid.com/bio.html I teach online via Skype (a free download) as well as at home in Nashville Tennessee. Julie has been teaching for a long time, and has worked with all types of voices and styles. Now, with free video conferencing, she can teach YOU. Here is what a couple happy singers have to say: "Julie is dynamic, engaging, and very encouraging as a vocal coach

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Sometihing Familiar

Household Ink Records
2007

buy

Something Familiar

Household Ink Records
2006

buy

Blur Joan

Household Ink Records
2005

buy

post​-​Polka

Self Produced
2003

buy

Free Associations

Household Ink Records
1999

buy

Videos

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