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Michelle LeBlanc, jazz vocalist and American history buff, has created a series of history themed live shows that celebrate Jazz music as a way of telling the story of America. Each concert traces the development of jazz and the historical trends that generated this uniquely American art form. Michelle chooses popular jazz songs as the framework for each show and weaves stories around the tunes, highlighting the composers, the musicians and their times.
Michelle has received support from New York State Council on the Arts
annually since 1999 to develop and perform her shows.Journey Through the Decades
Through song and story, Michelle illustrates the influence of the Blues, the Roaring Twenties, Great Depression, Jim Crow, World War II home front, the Bebop era and Latin music on American popular culture as reflected through jazz music.
Ella!
Michelle traces the history of jazz diva Ella Fitzgerald's life by performing popular songs recorded by Ella throughout her five decade long career. The show features songs that serve as benchmarks for Ella's international career including "Tisket a Tasket" and "How High the Moon."
Women in Jazz
Michelle has collected songs composed by Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln, Peggy Lee, Dorothy Fields, Blossom Dearie and Mary Lou Williams. Stories focus on their career highlights as well as on the impact of the eras in which they lived.
Cole Porter
Cole Porter is heralded as the most accomplished songsmith of all of his contemporaries, including Gershwin and Rodgers. His talent for marrying the lyric to the melody has yet to be surpassed.
Swing Dance
For this show, Michelle invites the audience to dance to the great swing tunes of Ellington, Goodman and others. Dance instructors are available upon request.
Jazz Standards
Michelle explores what is meant by a jazz standard tune and also gives a glimpse into the standard workings of a jazz combo. 1950s JAZZ: Bop, Cool, R&B
This show features songs by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles as well as popular jazz standards written in the 1950s like "Misty" and "Fever." The impact of the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement on jazz music is explored.
The Jazz Age
This show features songs of the jazz luminaries of the Roaring Twenties. Stories touch upon the clash between the Victorian and Modern Ages, the genesis of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as the influence of Sigmund Freud and the Lost Generation.
Jazz Me Blues
Michelle traces the origins of the blues
and demonstrates how the blues has influenced the development of jazz
and R&B music throughout the decades of the 20th century.
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