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Janis Siegel

Over the past four decades, the voice of Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in The Manhattan Transfer’s diverse musical catalog. Alongside her career as a founding member of this musical institution, Siegel has also sustained a solo career that has spawned almost a dozen finely-crafted solo albums and numerous collaborative projects, amassed a large international fan base and garnered consistently high critical praise. Janis continues to tour with The Manhattan Transfer and her own band, continues to teach and do masterclasses, all while she gears up for her newest solo release “NightSongs” on Palmetto Records in September of 2013. This latest project, her first self- produced venture, is a collection of late night love songs, features some of N.Y.’s most inventive musicians including pianist/arranger John di Martino, Steve Khan, Dominick Farinacci, Joel Frahm , Luisito Quintero and Christian McBride. The record continues to explore various fusions of Latin rhythm coupled with contemporary songs and a jazz/pop vocal sensibility. There are also 3 original songs…”Love Saves” ( Salvapantallas) with music by Jorge Drexler, has an original English lyric by Janis. “Sweet September Rain” and “As You Leave My Nest” ( which only appears on the Japanese release ) has lyrics by Rabbi Harry Levin and Janis.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1952, Siegel learned about the music business at an early age. By the time she was 12, she was singing with an all-girl pop trio called The Young Generation. By the time she and her bandmates had graduated from high school, they’d released two singles: “The Hideaway” (b/w “Hymn of Love”) on Red Bird Records, and “It’s Not Gonna Take Too Long” (b/w “Diggin’ You”) on Kapp Records , both produced by Richard Perry. “At that time, I was exclusively listening to pop and folk music,” Siegel recalls. “When Motown became popular, I fell head over heels for it, as well as for singers like Aretha Franklin. And of course, I went insane over the Beatles and the British invasion. On the other side of the coin, I also loved Barbra Streisand. And because of living in Brooklyn, I saw a lot of Broadway shows too.” On the jazz side, she remembers John Coltrane as her musical idol during high school and college years. After graduating from high school, the trio shifted from pop to acoustic folk and rechristened themselves Laurel Canyon. Siegel was in college on a nursing scholarship, but left school in the early ‘70s to focus all of her energies on Laurel Canyon. But it was a chance encounter that “steered “ her into The Manhattan Transfer. Tim Hauser was a taxi driver with musical aspirations who happened to pick up Laurel Canyon’s conga player one night. The percussionist invited Hauser to a party, where he met Siegel and asked her to sing on some demos he’d been working on. Some of the early swing music that Hauser had been dabbling in was an eye-opener to Siegel, who’d previously been immersed in pop,country and folk. Hauser invited Siegel to join a four-part vocal group that he’d been trying to reconstruct. (An earlier version of The Manhattan Transfer with a much different tone and style had existed briefly in the late ‘60s.) When she joined Hauser, Laurel Massé and Alan Paul, the Manhattan Transfer was born. The group’s self-titled debut album in 1975 ushered in a renaissance in vocal-based music and marked the opening chapter of the foursome’s success story. Over the years, Janis’ unmistakable voice has become one of the group’s most recognizable trademarks. She sang lead on some of the Transfer’s biggest hits, such as “Operator,” “Chanson D’Amour,” “Twilight Zone,” “Birdland,” “Shaker Song,” “The Boy from N.Y.C.,” “Spice of Life,” “Sassy” and “Mystery.” She also gained a reputation as a vocal arranger by writing five of the charts for the group’s acclaimed masterwork, Vocalese, seven charts for the group’s Grammy-winning album Brasil, the vocal charts for the Grammy winners “Why Not?” and “Sassy.” She won a Grammy herself in 1980 for her arrangement of “Birdland.” In 1993, she and her Manhattan Transfer colleagues received their honorary doctorates from the Berklee School of Music, and in 1999 they were among the first class of inductees into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. But Siegel has been riding a dual career track for nearly three and a half decades. In addition to her stage and studio work with The Manhattan Transfer, she launched her solo career in 1981 on Atlantic Records with the release of Experiment in White produced by Joel Dorn. Her followup solo effort, At Home, earned her a Grammy nomination in 1987 for Best Female Jazz Vocal. She collaborated with jazz pianist Fred Hersch on the 1989 effort, Short Stories, which Jazz Times ranked “among the most graceful, thoroughly heartbreaking efforts of the modern era, thanks to her rich, emotive vocals. “That same year, the New York Music Awards named her Best Female Jazz Singer. Siegel rejoined Hersch in the making of Slow Hot Wind in 1995, and The Tender Trap in 1999. In addition to Hersch, The Tender Trap session roster included high-profile players like Michael Brecker, Hank Crawford, Russell Malone and Matt Wilson. Through it all, diversity has been a hallmark of Siegel’s career. Some of her favorite collaborations over the years have been with Turkish modern classical composer Ilhan Mimaroglu and the Beaux Arts String Quartet in a musical and spoken word project called “Like There’s Tomorrow,” as well as projects with the legendary Jay McShann, Lew Soloff, Australian flautist Jane Rutter, The Count Basie Orchestra with Hank Jones, Indonesian guitarist Dewa Budjana, and R&B singer Leon Ware. She also was a happy participant in “A Tribute to the Carpenters” on King Records in 1998, sang a duet (“Two For The Blues”) with Natalie Cole on Cole’s 1996 release, Stardust, and was a featured vocalist on Circlesongs, Bobby McFerrin’s multi-layered world/jazz effort of 1997. In 2012, Janis joined her favorite hipster Bob Dorough on his CD ”Duets,” along with Nellie McKay, The NY Voices, Phil Woods and Dave Liebman. Siegel has also appeared on a number of motion picture soundtracks (Swing Kids, A League of Their Own, Dick Tracy and others) and performed with classical violinist Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg and the Concordia Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall in 1998. I Wish You Love, released in 2002, marked her debut in the Telarc label and her reunion with legendary producer Joel Dorn. In some ways, the album also marked a return to Siegel’s roots, as it included jazzy renditions of a number of songs conceived in New York’s fabled Brill Building a hotbed of songwriting talent in the early ‘60s. It was in that building that Siegel wrote and recorded her earliest songs with the Young Generation. But the Brill Building concept expanded dramatically once the I Wish You Love sessions got under way. Crafted with a distinctly late ‘50s nightclub vibe, the album was a collection of pop and jazz hits – all penned during the fertile musical period from the late’50s to mid-‘60s, and all associated in some way with women and the female perspective. Her 2003 recording, Friday Night Special, combined Siegel’s rich, emotive vocals with an unusual selection of songs and a first-rate organ/tenor band featuring Joey DeFrancesco on Hammond B-3 and Houston Person on tenor saxophone. Produced by Joel Dorn, Siegel’s second Telarc release ranges from soul-jazz and bluesy grooves to funky rhythm & blues and romantic ballads. Siegel’s eighth solo recording, Sketches of Broadway, spotlighted classic Broadway hits by Irving Berlin, Lerner and Lowe, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and others. Produced by Gil Goldstein, Sketches of Broadway offers eleven showstoppers, including the opener “Show Me” (from My Fair Lady), “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top” (Oklahoma!), “I Have Dreamed” (The King and I), “I’ve Got the Sun in the Morning”(And The Moon At Night) (Annie Get Your Gun) and “Sorry/Grateful” (Company). Her last studio recording for Telarc, released in 2006 and produced by Brian Bacchus, is the Latin- flavored A Thousand Beautiful Things which features the talents of Edmar Castaneda on Colombian harp, Edsel Gomez on piano, John Benetiz on bass, Steve Hass on drums and Brian Lynch on trumpet. Edsel Gomez provided the arrangements for this formidable NY/Latin band, to songs written by contemporary songwriters such as Björk, Annie Lennox, (who wrote the title tune) Nellie McKay, Suzanne Vega, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. In an age when buyers and sellers are quick to jam music and musicians into convenient little boxes, Siegel – either as a solo artist or in a group setting – has already built a career on defying preconceptions and stereotypes. Siegel’s most recent collaborations and projects outside The Manhattan Transfer are many and varied. She is currently a touring member of the improvisational vocal group, Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, was a participant alongside Luciana Souza, and the late Mulgrew Miller and James Williams in a tribute to jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. Janis Siegel was also a member of the ensemble cast debuting Cy Coleman and Alan and Marilyn Bergman’s jazz song cycle, “Songs For A New Millenium” at the Kennedy Center. She appeared with her duo partner Fred Hersch on “2 Hands 10 Voices”, a benefit album for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a cause close to her heart. The summer of 2003 found her an eager participant in the Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl Tribute To Ella Fitzgerald. Siegel performed to rave reviews with an all-star ensemble including Dame Cleo Laine, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kevin Mahogany and Canadian jazz singer Denzil Sinclaire. In March 2008, she was asked again to pay tribute to her idol in a program called, “LA Phil Presents A Tribute To Ella.” at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. And in 2010, she was a member of a troupe, alongside Dee Dee Bridgewater and Al Jarreau that celebrated “Ella” at The Kennedy Center. These Ella tributes have now become a staple for Janis, the next one occurring in Atlanta in Sept 2013 with The Count Basie Band and Kevin Mahogony. These days, you can find Janis in the place she loves most, the studio, producing various ventures for other artists and singing on projects ranging from patriotic Americana, to tributes to Gene Krupa and Lionel Hampton, a full blown vocal extravaganza that she produced for legendary Filipino singer/songwriter Jose Mari Chan. This CD was entitled “The Manhattan Connection” and featured 15 incredible vocal artists such as Lisa Fischer, Canada’s Kellyelee Evans, Theo Bleckmann, Laurel Massé, Julie Hardy, Lauren Kinhan and Marlon Saunders among many others…all singing new arrangements of classic songs of Mr. Chan. The fall of 2008 found her in the studio singing and producing a tribute to the great lyricist Johnny Mercer, called “That Old Mercer Magic.” This project featured Janis’ girl trio, JaLaLa, which was comprised of former MT partner Laurel Massé and Lauren Kinhan from the New York Voices.

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In Pictures

Janis Siegel with The Jimmy Masters Trio at the Sandler Center

Read "Janis Siegel with The Jimmy Masters Trio at the Sandler Center" reviewed by Mark Robbins


In 1972 Tim Hauser, Laurel Masse, Alan Paul and Janis Siegel created a four part vocal group called The Manhattan Transfer. Cheryl Bentyne replaced Masse in 1979 and the group remained intact until October 2014 with the passing of Hauser. Trist Curless replaced Hauser and the four vocalist have been recording and traveling ever since. The group announced that the 2022 world tour, celebrating their 50th anniversary, would be their last. Who better to lead a musical evening ...

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Liner Notes

Dewa Budjana: Joged Kahyangan

Read "Dewa Budjana: Joged Kahyangan" reviewed by John Kelman


Dewa Budjana may not be a household name outside of his native country, Indonesia, but with MoonJune Records picking up this exciting guitarist and composer, all that could be about to change. He's already garnered some serious attention with his first recording for the label, Dawai in Paradise, released earlier this year (2013), but at home, he's nothing short of a pop star. Lead guitarist and songwriter for the multi-platinum, million-selling Indonesian pop/rock group Gigi, the fifty year-old Budjana has ...

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Album Review

Bobby Sanabria: Vox Humana

Read "Vox Humana" reviewed by Cary Tenenbaum


The opening track on Vox Humana could easily have been the encore of this live performance recorded at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, part of Jazz At Lincoln Center in New York City. It is a rousing version of the Duke Ellington crowd pleaser “Caravan" and a boisterous Latin tinged big band version it is, with Matthew Gonzalez's barril de bomba and requinto pandereta, bandleader and drummer Sanabria and others on congas, bongos and bells prominently leading the percussionists and portending ...

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Liner Notes

Lorraine Feather's Language Turns A Witty Phrase

Read "Lorraine Feather's Language Turns A Witty Phrase" reviewed by Ken Dryden


I got to know Lorraine Feather through reviewing several of her CDs, amazed by her gifts as a lyricist and singer, who was equally at home with witty songs and tender ballads. I first met Lorraine when she was performing at the late lamented Manhattan club Danny's Skylight Room with pianist Shelly Berg. We would chat during IAJE conferences and I was delighted when she invited me to write the liner notes for this CD. This release stands the test ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Midsummer Releases From Duo Carmen Staaf & Allison Miller, Vocalists Deb Rasmussen and Lainie Cooke Plus Birthday Shoutouts And More

Read "Midsummer Releases From Duo Carmen Staaf & Allison Miller, Vocalists Deb Rasmussen and Lainie Cooke Plus Birthday Shoutouts And More" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


This broadcast presents new releases from duo Carmen Staaf & Allison Miller, vocalists Deb Rasmussen and Lainie Cooke, Vancouver duo Laura Crema & Bill Coon, with birthday shoutouts to Lisa Maxwell, Cynthia Scott, Carmen Bradford, Helen Merrill, Nicole Glover, Janis Siegel and Luciana Souza, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of pandemic so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire.Playlist Lisa Maxwell “Ludie" ...

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Album Review

Dewa Budjana: Joged Kahyangan

Read "Joged Kahyangan" reviewed by Ian Patterson


A million-selling artist in Indonesia with pop-rock band Gigi, guitarist Dewa Budjana's solo projects informed by progressive rock, Indonesian folk and jazz fusion reveal a greater spirit of adventure. Budjana's second release of 2013 on the MoonJune label following Dawai in Paradise is similarly melodic, though differs significantly. Firstly, the word-fusion-meets-prog rock of Dawai in Paradise gives way to a more overtly contemporary jazz approach on Joged Kahyangan. Secondly, whereas the earlier release featured predominantly Indonesian musicians, Budjana harnesses heavyweight ...

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Album Review

Janis Siegel: Janis Siegel - Nightsongs: A Late Night Interlude

Read "Janis Siegel - Nightsongs: A Late Night Interlude" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Vocalist Janis Siegel is the mezzo-soprano/alto quarter of the Manhattan Transfer as well as half of the female contingency of the same with soprano Cheryl Bentyne. Like Bentyne, Siegel has managed a very successful solo career, releasing ten recordings since 1981. Nightsongs: A Late Night Interlude follows 2006's A Thousand Beautiful Things (Telarc, 2006) and 2004's Sketches of Broadway (Telarc). Siegel is a wholesale master of jazz vocals subgenre: ballads, scats, bop, she competently does them all. Nightsongs endeavors a ...

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Recording

Requinte Trio 'The Northern Sea' With Janis Siegel, John Di Martino & Nanny Assis!

Requinte Trio 'The Northern Sea' With Janis Siegel, John Di Martino & Nanny Assis!

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

A pianist from jny: Philadelphia, a singer from Brooklyn and a percussionist from Bahia walk into a bar... Fingers, voices and rhythm. A lingering sweetness on your lips from the night before, and a quick inhale the morning after. The richness and passion of The Northern Sea. Pianist/arranger John di Martino hails from the City Of Brotherly Love, had learned his licks with the great Lennie Tristano and is one of the most in-demand accompanists for singers. Man, got some ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Lea DeLaria with Janis Siegel, New Year's Eve jazz, and more

Jazz this week: Lea DeLaria with Janis Siegel, New Year's Eve jazz, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

For the last week of the year, the calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features a homecoming for another local native who's made good on the national stage, plus a variety of musical options for New Year's Eve, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, December 27 Singer, actor and Belleville native Lea DeLaria will perform for the first of two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. DeLaria, who has done stand-up comedy, starred on ...

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Crowdfunding Campaign

ArtistShare Launches The Requinte Trio Project

ArtistShare Launches The Requinte Trio Project

Source: Prawit Austin Siriwat

NEW FAN-FUNDED ALBUM FEATURES GRAMMY AWARD WINNING VOCALIST, JANIS SIEGEL, WORLD-RENOWNED BRAZILIAN MUSICIAN NANNY ASSIS, AND MULTI-GRAMMY NOMINATED PIANIST JOHN DI MARTINO The Requinte Trio is a fusion of Brazilian and American Jazz, forming a creative combustion of music Nine time Grammy Award winning vocalist Janis Siegel, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Nanny Assis, and Multi-Grammy Nominated pianist John Di Martino are each recognized as masters of their craft. With the Requinte Trio, they each bring their love for American Jazz and Brazilian ...

Recording

Dewa Budjana's New Album "Joged Kahyangan" Features Larry Goldings, Peter Erskine, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Mintzer, Janis Siegel

Dewa Budjana's New Album "Joged Kahyangan" Features Larry Goldings, Peter Erskine, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Mintzer, Janis Siegel

Source: Leonardo Pavkovic

Boasting a stellar lineup of modern jazz icons Larry Goldings, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Johnson and Peter Erskine (and featuring guest vocalist, the fabulous Janis Siegel), Indonesian guitar maestro Dewa Budjana's sixth solo album — his second for MoonJune Records — is a progressive jazz master-class session of huge proportions. Overflowing with moments of elegance, grace, depth and invention, Joged Kahyangan is Dewa's musical interpretation of the beauty of heaven. Featuring eight exquisitely-crafted, -arranged and -executed gems, Budjana and friends have ...

Recording

Vocal Icon Janis Siegel Releases First Solo Album in Seven Years: "NightSongs"

Vocal Icon Janis Siegel Releases First Solo Album in Seven Years: "NightSongs"

Source: Chris M. Slawecki

Over the past four decades, the voice of Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in music; a founding member of The Manhattan Transfer, solo artist, producer and arranger, Janis is “about as eclectic in her musical tastes as a pop singer can get,” writes The New York Times. “She has shown an especially sharp eye for sophisticated high-quality pop-jazz songs.” For NightSongs (Palmetto), her first solo album in seven years, ...

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Performance / Tour

Manhattan Transfers' Vocalist Janis Seigel performs at Vitello's Jazz & Supper Club on September 10, 2010

Manhattan Transfers' Vocalist Janis Seigel performs at Vitello's Jazz & Supper Club  on September 10, 2010

Source: April Williams

The Manhattan Transfers' vocalist Janis Seigel will perform at Vitello's Jazz & Supper Club in Studio City on September 10th 2010. There will be two shows each night at 8p and 10p. Tickets are avilable at ticketweb.com or 818-769-0905. The Janis Siegel Quartet will feature Alan Pasqua (piano) Darek Oles (bass) and Steve Hass (drums &percussion) Over the past three decades, the voice of Janis Siegel—a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee—has been an undeniable force in The ...

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Performance / Tour

"Janis Siegel "An Evening of 1000 Beautiful Things...And Other Love Songs." Special Valentine's Show Feb. 14 at the Iridium

"Janis Siegel "An Evening of 1000 Beautiful Things...And Other Love Songs." Special Valentine's Show Feb. 14 at the Iridium

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121 SETS AT 8:30 & 10:30PM JANIS SIEGEL"AN EVENING OF 1000 BEAUTIFUL THINGS...AND OTHER LOVE SONGS." SPECIAL VALENTINE'S SHOW Feb. 14 FEATURING GRAMMY NOMINATED PIANIST EDSEL GOMEZ, BEN STREET, BASS AND STEVE HASS, DRUMS The Iridium Jazz Club is pleased to present a very special Valentine's Day show featuring nine-time Grammy winner (and seventeen-time Grammy nominee) and founding member of Manhattan Transfer vocalist Janis ...

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Performance / Tour

Janis Siegel Special Valentine's Show Feb. 14 At The Iridium

Janis Siegel Special Valentine's Show Feb. 14 At The Iridium

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Iridium Jazz Club 1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121 http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com SETS AT 8:30 & 10:30PM

JANIS SIEGEL: AN EVENING OF 1000 BEAUTIFUL THINGS ... AND OTHER LOVE SONGS SPECIAL VALENTINE'S SHOW Feb. 14

FEATURING GRAMMY NOMINATED PIANIST EDSEL GOMEZ, BEN STREET, BASS AND STEVE HASS, DRUMS

The Iridium Jazz Club is pleased to present a very special Valentine's Day show featuring nine-time Grammy ...

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Education

Ann Hampton Callaway, Laurel Masse and Janis Siegel to teach Jazz Master Class at Singers Forum NYC

Ann Hampton Callaway, Laurel Masse and Janis Siegel to teach Jazz Master Class at Singers Forum NYC

Source: All About Jazz

Tony-nominated singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway and Grammy winners Laurel Masse and Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer will come together for the first time to teach a master class in jazz vocals for Singers Forum, New York's premiere vocal academy.

The class, “Sing the Swing," will take place on July 10th and 11th, from 7-10 pm in The Dorothy Jones Theater at Singers Forum. Participating students will be chosen by auditions on May 31 and June 1, but auditors are ...

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Performance / Tour

Ella! Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, Al Jarreau, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, Music Director

Ella! Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, Al Jarreau, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, Music Director

Source: Michael Ricci

Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, and Al Jarreau are featured in this all-star celebration of the music of Ella Fitzgerald, with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, music director.

Jan 24, 2010 at 7:00 PM Concert Hall 1 hour, 45 minutes $20.00 - $45.00 Ella! Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, and Al Jarreau, The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, Music Director One show only! Washington pays tribute ...

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Vox Humana

Jazzheads
2023

buy

Rovanio: The Music of...

In + Out Records
2023

buy

Requinte Trio - The...

Self Produced
2021

buy

Joged Kahyangan

MoonJune Records
2014

buy

Janis Siegel -...

Palmetto Records
2013

buy

Nightsongs - A Late...

Palmetto Records
2013

buy

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