Cat Coward: News

July 1st at the Organic Oasis is confirmed! 7 - 10PM. Come on down for a great night of music!

I'm working on getting musicians together for another fundraiser, this one on June 9th benefitting Planned Parenthood of Alaska. On piano will be Dan McElrath, and on bass, Matt Peterson. Should be another great evening of jazz for very useful cause in our community.

Steve, from Organic Oasis should be back next week so I'm hoping to have another date scheduled there soon. Stay tuned!

In addition to the jazz, I'm frantically getting gear together for a week long kayak trip in beautiful Prince William Sound. I'll be back just in time for the Planned Parenthood fundraiser. Never a dull moment!

An incredible evening last night at the Organic Oasis! We had a full house thanks to the MANY friends who came out for the show. Thanks to you all! Vlad and I played very well together, due, especially, to his fine musicianship at the keys. It never ceases to amaze me just how much FUN I have up on stage singing for people who are truly enjoying the jazz.

It looks like we'll be back for another show on Saturday, July 1st, 2006. This date needs to be confirmed in 3 weeks after "Owner-Steve" gets back in town from Costa Rica.

Tim and I just returned home from a much needed, relaxing vacation on the big island of Hawaii. It was "parents-only" trip while our son stayed home with grandma. What an incredible place. Truly magical.

I got back to find that lots of new musical activity has been generated by the "Jazz for a Cause" fundraising party for Bean's Cafe 4 weeks ago. I've been asked to arrange and participate in jazz ensembles for 3 upcoming fundraisers and 1 wedding between June and September! All 3 of the fundraisers were inspired by the success of "Jazz for a Cause"! How cool to realize the influence of "Jazz for a Cause" extends even beyond the benenfits to Bean's Cafe.

On a more immdiate note, don't miss tomorrow's performance at the Organic Oasis, 7 - 10PM. I'll be performing with another outstanding, and very expressive, pianist - Vlad Morakhovsky. I'm sure it will be a fabulous show. Hope to see you there!

The fundraising party for Bean's Cafe was a smashing success! Billed under the heading of "Jazz for a Cause: Musicians and Neighbors in Concert for the Community", it was attended by 80 people and raised over $10,000.00 for Bean's!

The musical entertainment at the party went extremely well. Dan McElrath on piano, Ray Booker on bass and myself on vocals. We played 3 hours of music, including many loved standards such as "Fly me to the moon", "Misty", "Turn me on", "Crazy" and many others. Guests smiled, laughed, danced, enjoyed each other and the evening.

Food was provided by Mark and Gale Hall of "Grilled Cheese Palace - Cooking with Friends" catering. Mouth water shrimp, scallops, fruits, cheeses, and deserts were enjoyed by all.

From start to finish "Jazz for a Cause" brought people together, building up an entire community of contributors. I worked very closely with the Sharron Jordan, the Development Director at Bean's, who was able to obtain very generous donations of wine and champagne from 3 major local wine distibutors - Northern Spirits Distributors, Brown Jug, and Odem Distributors.

The use of a sound system was donated by The Horn Doctor, on Ingra Ave, house cleaning services were donated by Julia Cossman of Ship Shape Home Care.

A few days before the party, my friend Joyce and I went shoppping for gowns at Encore Boutique on the Old Seward Hwy. Sue, the owner of the Boutique, was so touched by the idea of the party that she knocked $20 off the cost of our gowns AND threw in a pair of dynamite shoes for both of us! Needless-to-say, I've told all my girlfriends about this fabulous boutique and Sue has already increased her business as a result!

We hope to make "Jazz for a Cause" and annual event. Here's to many more fine parties!

What a great show we had at the Organic Oasis on the 25th of February. Thanks to all of you who came out on a cold, snowy night. Record numbers! Evgeny was fabulous, and the songs went so well! It was really so fun. I'm looking forward to another show there on Saturday, April 29th.

Currently I'm working hard to pull together our fundraising party for Bean's Cafe on April 1st. I'll be playing with Dan McElrath on piano, and Ray Booker on Bass. We're excited to raise lots of money for Bean's, while enjoying an elegant evening of "jazz, deserts, late night snacks, and champagne". Stay tuned...

As hoped, I have a show set up at the Organic Oasis on February 25, 7 - 10PM. The bad news is that Dan McElrath is not available that night, but the good news is, that I have the honor (and I mean "honor") to be accompanied by Evgeny Chernonog. He is a brilliant pianist and I'm quite excited to sing with him! Come on down for the show. The Organic Oasis is located at 2610 Spenard. They have great food, beer and wine, very easy parking, and most importantly, a wonderful sound system and fabulous piano!

Also, I'm setting up a fundraiser for Bean's Cafe on April 1st. This will be hosted by a couple in Anchorage in their private home. I am very excited that Dan will be playing with me on this show, as well as a bassist and sax player! This will be great fun for a geat cause!

I'm working on setting up a show in February at the Organic Oasis on Spenard. I'll be backed up by jazz pianist Dan McErath. Stay tuned for more info!

This just in: Sullivan's gigs on the 18th and 25th of this month are cancelled (Email me for details...). As always, thank you to all my awesome friends for their support. I'll keep you posted about up coming shows.

I have decided to branch out from my current group, Midnight Starlight, to undertake some solo musical projects! I have scheduled 2 of my own shows at Sullivan's Steakhouse at the end of January. These will be full nights of vocal music, from 5:30 - 10:30PM, on January 18th and 25th. I will be backed up by a fabulous jazz pianist. Come on down for one (or both!) of these shows!

It has been a really successful fall: my website up, a 6 song CD recorded, multiple gigs at Sullivan's and throughout town. Thanks to all who have supported me so far! The month of January will be more sparse because Tom Lambert(our Midnight Starlight pianist) will be away in Mexico for the month. Stay tuned for shows recommencing in February!