Join us as we celebrate the 86th birthday of our very own “Mother” Miriam Garfield.

Tony DeSare performs with infectious joy, wry playfulness and robust musicality. Named Rising Star Male Vocalist in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has lived up to this distinction by winning critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas and headlining major symphony orchestras, DeSare has brought his fresh take on old school class around the globe. DeSare has four top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, the Today Show and his music has been posted by social media celebrity juggernaut, George Takei. DeSare has also collaborated with Youtube supergroup Postmodern Jukebox. He has been a featured guest artist with over 100 symphony orchestras with some highlights including the Cleveland Orchestra, The New York Pops, The San Francisco Symphony, The Houston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony. Notwithstanding his critically acclaimed turns as a singer/pianist, DeSare is also an accomplished award-winning composer. He not only won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest, but has written the theme song for the motion picture, My Date With Drew, several broadcast commercials and has scored five films. His sound is romantic, swinging and sensual, but what sets DeSare apart is his ability to write original material that sounds fresh and contemporary, yet pays homage to the Great American Songbook. Tony has a strong presence on social media and continues to release his "song diaries", recordings from his home studio that started in 2020 and now number in the 100's. Tony has numerous recordings available on all platforms and playlists. Tony DeSare is a Yamaha Artist.

DEBBY BOONE is a multiple cross-over artist who has enjoyed Top 10 successes on the Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary, and Contemporary Christian charts. She became a household name thanks to her record-breaking debut single You Light Up My Life in 1977, charting #1 on Billboard for ten straight weeks and selling in excess of four million albums. That year she received the Grammy for Best New Artist and has since received seven Grammy nominations, winning two more. In 2008, the song was ranked #7 in Billboard's 50th Anniversary all-time top charting songs. Most recently, “Swing This” An Evening with Debby Boone, a TV Special premiered on October 4, 2022 on KVCR-TV, PBS, was recorded in June as the opening summer performance for the outdoor Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival.  Debby hopes her listeners leave feeling like they spent a comfortable evening in her living-room. “Let’s experience something together,” she says.   Debby’s last album release was her thirteenth studio recording, Swing This, music that is evocative of the golden age of Las Vegas. Her accompanying show, which premiered at New York City’s Carlyle Hotel, continues to entertain audiences at performing arts centers, casinos, and symphony halls throughout the U.S.  Debby celebrates memories and stories from her formative years, when her father, Pat Boone, was headlining at the Sands and Sahara Hotels. She also shares stories of eventually getting to work with members of the Rat Pack like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. “Debby Boone is a joyous blend of delicacy, wit, swinging sophistication, smoky sexiness, and unbeatable artistry, often at the same time--all rolled into one swinging musical package… she offers variety, versatility, and class all wrapped up in a brightly colored burst of show business know-how... one of the few headliners today who is keeping great music alive.” - REX REED Debby has appeared a number of times on stage in New York, including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982), Lincoln Center’s 30th Anniversary production of The Sound of Music (1989), as well as in the part of Rizzo in the revival of Grease (1996). She also toured nationally in Meet Me In St. Louis (1990) and performed the role of Anna in The King and I on a west coast regional tour (2001). She starred in a production of Into TheWoods in May of 2016 in Colorado, and in July 2018 in 42nd Street in Arizona. Building on her previous critically acclaimed release for Concord Records, Reflections of Rosemary, Debby continues to grow her reputation as a singer of the Great American Songbook. The album is an intimate musical portrait of her late mother-in-law, the legendary singer Rosemary Clooney. Debby performed this musical tribute across the country culminating in a prestigious appearance with the  Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston. Debby lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Gabriel Ferrer, who works as an Episcopal priest. They have four grown children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and four adorable grandchildren.

From international music festivals, vaunted venues such as L.A’s Greek Theater and Walt Disney Concert Hall, to sold-out runs at New York’s Birdland or London’s Ronnie Scott’s, the award-winning singer dedicates the same amount of passion to every show. A bridge between tradition and revolution (he is the son of three time Grammy winner and Jazz legend Mel Tormé), James’ jazz-inspired mash-ups harken those of “greats” such as Anita O’Day or Ella Fitzgerald. Like all great entertainers, his charm, ready wit and hypnotic stage presence appear effortless - qualities that have helped him gain fans everywhere. — Peter Felt, THE VELVET BLOG

Born May 28, 1944 in Riverside, California, Billy was named after his father, Bill McCord, who worked as a staff announcer for NBC in New York, where Billy grew up. His mom, Ann Ryan, was one of the Ray Charles Singers on record and TV with Perry Como. Still in his teens, Billy made his first record. One side, “My Heart Cries,” was popular in the Northeast, while the other side, the self-penned “All My Love,” saw regional action in Texas and Louisiana. The first song he ever presented to a publisher, “Mean Old World,” became a chart hit for Ricky Nelson and, one year later, his “Make Me Belong To You,” was a summer hit for Atlantic Records star Barbara Lewis. This entre to Atlantic caused label chief Jerry Wexler to sign Billy. The resulting single, a duet with Dionne Warwick’s cousin, Judy Clay, was the hit, “Storybook Children.” The two followed up with “Country Girl-City Man” and appeared at Harlem’s Apollo Theater to standing ovations.  Billy’s first solo hit was a cover of Bobby Goldsboro’s “With Pen In Hand,” arranged by the late Arif Mardin and supervised by Wexler. But the late 60s were changing times and Billy couldn’t find a way to fit in musically. The 70s were rough, until Dolly Parton cut Billy’s song, “I Really Got The Feeling,” taking it to #1 on the country charts. This propelled a move to Los Angeles, where, in 1979, he formed Billy & the Beaters. which soon became the most talked-about band in town. In 1981, the band recorded for Alfa Records, the chart hit, “I Can Take Care Of Myself,” written by Billy. The follow-up, “At This Moment,” scraped the lower end of the charts, as Alfa’s Japanese owners pulled the plug on the label. Five years later, a phone call from the producer of the sitcom Family Ties changed everything. They wanted to use “At This Moment” in an episode. The public responded and the song, now reissued on Rhino, vaulted to #1 nationally. In the interim, Billy had built a side career in acting, appearing in the cult film, “Buckaroo Banzai”, Oliver Stone’s “The Doors”, Blake Edwards’ “Blind Date”, as well as various TV shows like “Alice”, “Wise Guy”, “Baywatch” and a recurring role as Duke on “Beverly Hills, 90210”. Billy’s radio show, “Billy Vera’s Rock’n’Roll Party”, led to yet another side career as a voiceover artist. He’s been heard, plugging products like Burger King, Honda, Toyota, Mercury, Mervin’s and dozens of others. Billy produced the last four albums of his friend, Lou Rawls, taking the great singer back to #1 on the jazz charts, reviving his recording career. Their last collaboration was “Rawls Sings Sinatra”, one year prior to Lou’s passing. Artists who have recorded Billy Vera songs include Bonnie Raitt, Robert Plant, Fats Domino, the Shirelles, Tom Jones, Freda Payne and Little Milton. Etta James recorded and Jerry Wexler produced, “You’ve Got Me,” a tune Billy did in the Willie Nelson starring, “Baja Oklahoma”. Television has been good to Billy. He’s sung the theme songs to the hit series ” King Of Queens” and “Empty Nest” and his tunes have been used in many shows. An appearance on the NBC show “Hit Me Baby One More Time” resulted in renewed interest in Billy Vera and sell-out crowds at his appearances.   In 2008, Michael Buble recorded Billy’s song, “At This Moment” on his album, Crazy Love, which has sold over 8 million copies to date.   In January 2016 Billy’s dream album, BILLY VERA: BIG BAND JAZZ was released on Varese-Sarabande Records. The album is a tribute to the great black songwriters of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Buddy Johnson.  This past year in April 2019, Billy released his newest album TIMELESS, now available wherever fine music is sold.  Currently, Billy resides in Los Angeles where he is continuing to write music and books after the success of his memoir Harlem to Hollywood (Backbeat Books) and the just recently published Rip It Up:  The Specialty Records Story (BMG Books).    BV Quick Facts: ”At This Moment” #1 January, 1987, exposed on NBC’s Family Ties 1st hit record: “Storybook Children” duet with Judy Clay, Atlantic Records, 1967. 2013 Grammy Win: Best Album Notes for the Ray Charles box set “Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles”. 1st solo hit: “With Pen In Hand”, Atlantic, 1968. 1st hit as a songwriter: “Mean Old World Ricky Nelson”, 1965. 1st #1 as a songwriter: “I Really Got The Feeling”, Dolly Parton, 1979. 1st Biggest selling song: At This Moment” thanks to Michael Buble’s CD “Crazy Love”, over eight million sold so far – and still going strong! 2nd Biggest selling song: “Papa Come Quick (Jody & Chico)” on Bonnie Raitt’s “Luck of the Draw” – over 5 million to date. 1st acting role: as Pinky Carruthers in “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai”  1st #1 as a record producer: Lou Rawls’s Grammy-nominated “At Last”

D’Amico honed her skills as an actress in television, film and theater, which she states has afforded her writing and directing skills as a storyteller. After spending the last two years filming the Indian/American drama One Little Finger in India, a film in which she stars as the lead, and promotes the theme “Ability in Disability” for having employed over 80 disabled actors, she returned from the Cannes Film Festival where the film premiered. One Little Finger, directed by Rupam Sarmah is now officially released on Amazon and all streaming platforms. She gained traction in social media after she recurred on the hit Disney + show Best Friends Whenever, as nemesis Janet Smythe, playing the younger counterpart to actress Nora Dunn (SNL). She can be seen in the feature films Walt Before Mickey with Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) about the life of Walt Disney and can be heard singing the Bond-esque theme song “Love and the Gun” in both English and Italian in the feature film Rob the Mob (Millennium Films/Lakeshore Records) directed by Raymond De Felitta (City Island, Madoff) both now streaming on NETFLIX.  Also streaming on Amazon, she stars in the award winning series Englishman in L.A. with actors Cameron Moir (Non Stop) and Eddie Jemison (HUNG, Oceans 11, 12, 13) for which she was awarded “Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Web Series” by LA WEB FEST. Three upcoming independent films in post production: Quinn, Love is Not Love and 3 People I’ve Never Heard Of.  Taking time to stay creative in quarantine, she wrote, produced, directed and acted in the Twilight Zone-esque pandemic short film shot on an iPhone 11 Pro entitled FEVER  now on YouTube and touring film festivals. Just as astute behind the camera, D’Amico gained recognition as one of the top 24 finalists on the FOX reality show On the Lot, produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. She garnered attention from the show’s producers with her heartwarming entry film entitled Volare, starring Federico Castelluccio (The Sopranos), based on her father’s life story, which led her to a first-look deal with DreamWorks. Prior to this, D’Amico began her career in film and theater at Florida State University’s much lauded Film School, which accepts only 16 students a year from all over the world.  After majoring in Film and with a minor in Theater and Psychology, she continued her schooling in Los Angeles at The Strasberg Institute, (she was the first to build and shoot in their soundstage), while working in Hollywood for many well known producers such as mega producer Chuck Roven/Atlas Entertainment (Wonder Woman), in all facets while making her own short films, web series and winning many festival awards.   D’Amico produced and directed the hit web television series Sex Ed: The Series, starring Joanna Cassidy (Bladerunner), Matt Barr (Blood & Treasure) and Angela Sarafyan (West World) for which she received the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, which gives a promising filmmaker a full Panavision camera package. Sex Ed: The Series garnered much TV press and accolades and boasts over 150 Million views on YouTube and counting. The show received nominations for both a Streamy Award and a Webby Award and TV Guide listed it in the “top 10 of notable television shows worth watching”. D’Amico has gone on to create other several TV web serials with Funny or Die, and Comedy Central and has many feature film projects in development through the BELLONA Entertainment banner. Recent producing/directing projects have gone viral: the music video for “How Does a Moment Last Forever”- from last year’s Beauty and the Beast film, “What Might Have Been” (30 years after Blade Runner, actress Joanna Cassidy resurrects her character Zhora to do the reptile dance that Ridley Scott never got to film for the movie.) and The Modern Fundamentalist – Kim Davis Parody starring Broadway chanteuse Rena Strober and finally, TRUMP (Ya Got) Trouble which is a parody of The Music Man starring Stephen Van Dorn as Donald Trump. For those who know her as a music recording artist, D’Amico launched onto the jazz scene having recorded her debut album Got A Little Story, executive-produced by actor/producer Peter Krause (Parenthood, Six Feet Under, 911), produced by 6 time Grammy Award winner Jimmy Hoyson, and arranged by Multi Grammy nominee Chris Walden at Capitol Records. The album was released by LML Records/The Orchard (SONY) distribution which went into worldwide release and is available wherever fine music is sold, along with others singles and soundtracks she has recorded.  She can be heard on over 140 national radio and cable outlets in various jazz based/Adult Standard & Contemporary markets as well as many International radio and Internet streaming markets. She was named Clear Channel’s Best New Jazz Vocalist, and is in constant rotation on The Penthouse Radio Network, The Jonathan Station, Martini in the Morning, and MUSIC CHOICE’s Singer and Swingers channel via satellite, cable, & Internet. She executive produced an album for 2013 Grammy Winner Billy Vera (known for the hit “At This Moment”) entitled BILLY VERA: BIG BAND JAZZ (released on Varese Sarabande/Universal). D’Amico duets with Mr. Vera on the album with “I’ll Never Be Free”, which is a radio favorite on WBGO NY and KJAZZ in Los Angeles. 

Marsha is a smooth, rich, expressive singer with the ability to bring authenticity to each song with heartfelt vocals that transport a lyric straight to your heart. She has been known to “cross any genre for a good lyric” and does so with heart and truth. Her performances throughout the southland at venues like Catalina’s, and SRO shows at Upstairs at Vitello’s have won her audiences over. Marsha started her career in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 60’s The music scene was alive with incredible talent and opportunities. Her band opened for such acts at The Youngbloods, and played at venues like the Troubadour in Los Angeles.In 1980 Marsha won Best Vocalist in the American Songwriter’s Association’s International contest. The ‘American Idol” of it’s time, it brought access to opportunities that would take Marsha to Motown Records where she recorded with writers Ken Hirsch and Ron Miller who together and on their own…wrote “I’ve Never Been To Me”, “Touch Me In The Morning” for Diana Ross, “For Once In My Life” for Stevie Wonder, “If I Could” for Celine Dion, “No One In The World” for Anita Baker, among other top hits. Marsha studied with the legendary vocal coach Judy Davis, in Oakland CA. who she says..”Changed my life.” Judy was a Diva herself whose students include Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, and Judy Garland among others famous and not-so-famous. “Her mentoring is still with me today – and I still, after all these years, do her vocal eases every day. She is a woman who came into my life like an Angel – and I love her for sharing her knowledge with me.” She opened my eyes and ears to a wealth of information about the voice – She loved the music business – and her students – and I am forever grateful to her.” Although Marsha’s love for singing remained, musical politics and personal changes left her disheartened by the business and after a divorce, Marsha decided to leave the music business and shift gears to what she thought would be a better career to help with financially supporting her daughter. She may have left the stage for a time, but she continued working in the studio recording national jingles for such companies as Bank Of America, Chevron, among others. She transitioned into Voice-Overs and On-Camera acting. Here credits in this area included many national accounts, including being the voice of Safeway, Vons for all of their Television and Radio advertising. She was deemed by the press as “The Voice America Loves To Hate” and “The Voice Mail Queen.” Marsha was the American English voice for the largest International voice messaging company, serving the majority of voice mail systems in this country – Including most of the Fortune 500 companies – She is still heard on major voice-mails systems throughout the country – where you may hear her say…”I’m sorry, that’s not a valid password. Please try your call again later.” She was invited as guest on the Today Show among other national guest spots as the “person behind the telephone voice.” Being a Digital “star” was not what she had envisioned; and although it paid the bills, her heart kept longing to get back out and do what she really loved – Sing. Fast forward to social media and the wonders of Facebook – where Marsha re-connected with a former band mate Donny Marrow – Disk Eyes Productions. She recorded her first solo album, “It’s Time” in Nashville with Diskeyes Productions; with Donny Marrow producing and his esteemed team of studio musicians from all over the country adding their talents to the project. Marsha’s songs cross genres; from Billie Holiday to Bonnie Raitt; always with the lyric as her first consideration. It was time to return to the stage and the studio – And her album “It’s Time” marked the beginning of her “next act”. She recorded a Christmas Album which includes cherished Christmas favorites, as well a a NEW original song by Kenny Hirsch, Steve Ross, and Rosie Casey, “Almost Christmas Eve” – sure to become a Holiday Classic!

As a song stylist, Winkler’s range is wide and deep. He can swing like a horn player, touch hearts with a sensitive ballad, and deliver a humorous song with a sly wink. He captures all of these moods on THE RULES DON’T APPLY, his 21st CD. Winkler wrote lyrics for eight of the original songs on the album. He also included five of his favorite tunes written by Paul Simon, Lennon and McCartney, Eddie Arkin and Lorraine Feather, Donald Fagen, and Randy Newman. “Mark Winkler is a musical marvel and a true original!  At last, a writer who sings and a singer who swings!”  – Rex Reed “Winkler is not only a terrific vocalist, but is also one of the most interesting wordsmiths around today.” – Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz

Joseph Leo Bwarie is known globally for his redefinition of the American songbook and has been heralded by critics for his soaring vocals. A studio session singer since age eight, JLB was a vocal staple for film scores, TV, and record albums including The Manhattan Transfer, Michael Feinstein and legendary music producer David Foster, as well as Paul Williams, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Tito Puente, Jr.  His debut studio album, Nothin’ But Love, was followed by The Good Stuff and A Little Christmas. His highly anticipated new album will be released in 2024.  Since 2010, he has collaborated with arranger/producer Charles Calello, known for his epic works with Barbra Streisand, Laura Nyro, The Four Seasons, and for arranging iconic songs such as “Sweet Caroline” and “All By Myself.”  Bwarie and Calello’s arrangements offer a modern take on songs spanning decades of music with JLB’s signature warm vocals, and a range blending traditional pop, R&B and unexpected selections expanding the American songbook.  With Carole King’s encouragement, he landed the role of Frankie Valli in the Tony Award® winning musical Jersey Boys. His onscreen appearances include a trio of director Garry Marshall blockbusters: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day (that featured his version of “M-O-T-H-E-R”). While his studio sessions create indelible tracks, his live concerts give the feeling of being in a living room setting no matter the size of the venue.