Musical Styles and Projects
Michaels has been described as “Enchanting, charming and delightful” (JJ Murry-Leach, Decca Records) and been widely praised for her vocal talent and her emotional and witty interpretations. Focusing on big band songs from the Great American Songbook, Just Marilyn reaches into the big band era and builds on the glamor of Marilyn Monroe. All the songs from Just Marilyn recorded by Michaels were sung at some point by film icon and legend Marilyn Monroe. When asked “Why Marilyn?” Kate said in an interview that there’s more to Marilyn than "Happy Birthday, Mr. President", light comedies and the white dress. “She was one of the first women to take control of her own career and beat the studio heads at their own game. Marilyn was not one dimensional but I think that's how she is often viewed, unfortunately.”
The concept for her second album, The Best Things in Life, came after hearing a recording of Jo Stafford singing The Best Things in Life are Free. Interested in the work of Jamie Cullum and Stacey Kent, Michaels put together newer jazz versions of standard songs from the Great American Songbook with the German jazz trio, The Red Thread.
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Famous quotes containing the words musical, styles and/or projects:
“I was with Hercules and Cadmus once,
When in a wood of Crete they bayed the bear
With hounds of Sparta: never did I hear
Such gallant chiding; for besides the groves,
The skies, the fountains, every region near
Seemed all one mutual cry. I never heard
So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Can we love our children when they are homely, awkward, unkempt, flaunting the styles and friendships we don’t approve of, when they fail to be the best, the brightest, the most accomplished at school or even at home? Can we be there when their world has fallen apart and only we can restore their faith and confidence in life?”
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)
“But look what we have built ... low-income projects that become worse centers of delinquency, vandalism and general social hopelessness than the slums they were supposed to replace.... Cultural centers that are unable to support a good bookstore. Civic centers that are avoided by everyone but bums.... Promenades that go from no place to nowhere and have no promenaders. Expressways that eviscerate great cities. This is not the rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)