ROBIN PLUER with MRS.FUN
Les Chansons du Crepuscule
© 2003 ROBIN PLUER with MRS.FUN (702822000625)
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French cabaret with a quirky, jazz twist. awesome.
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Robin Pluer joins forces with MRS.FUN to perform a passionate melange of vintage French chansons with a twist of je ne sais quoi. Here's more about Robin.
She's a sultry diva with pizzazz and jazzy style. She's a multi-faceted songstress who elegantly but playfully delivers a mélange of vintage French ballads with a distinctive twist.
Robin Pluer, a perennial WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Award winner, has been once again awarded Milwaukee's Best Female Vocalist by the Shepherd Express for an unprecedented third year. This chanteuse with panache has become a mainstay at Bastille Days festivals. Over the past 20 years Robin has performed and composed music with John Sieger (R&B Cadets), Paul Cebar (and the Milwaukeeans) and Peter Buffett. Her fresh, engaging talent has afforded her opportunities coast to coast including Garrison Keeler's "Prairie Home Companion" and NPR's "World Café." Recently, Pluer has returned from touring Europe.
Wherever she performs, whether it's her funky R&B or flirtatious medley of French "oldies," Robin Pluer effortlessly captivates her audiences. She can transport you to a more genteel France through chansons of the past, or strike your inner musical soul with her original R&B style.
MRS. FUN plays hardcore electra-acid-jazz. Complex, sophisticated and adventurous, their music is a provocative blend of off-center jazz, ulta-funk, spoken word rap, and their own brand of neo-cabaret. Intelligent lyrics, flawless musicianship, and a dynamic stage presence are hallmarks of their music. The MRS. FUN sound is derived from Connie Grauer's funky bass-driven keyboard playing, combined with Kim Zick's aggressive in-the-pocket drumming. " Grauer is a piano player with few equals in this town whose drive and energy spills across the stage and into the audience like nitrous oxide. She's got a left hand that doesn't quit, the mark of any great pianist, and a right hand with limitless boundaries". Zick holds court as a "heart-stopping drummer" whose "grooves get so far out, most people need a map to get back." Voted Best Contemporary Jazz Group by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) three consecutive years, Grauer and Zick have also received WAMI awards for Best Instrumentalist: keyboards and drums. Grauer has also received awards for Best Female Vocalist and Best Stage Entertainer.
Grauer and Zick are from Les Paul's hometown Waukesha,WI. They began MRS. FUN in Nashville,TN, where they attracted the attention of many music industry insiders. Veteran producer Jim Rooney produced their first recording Lulu's Walk, which the band released on their own label FunTime Records.
After MRS. FUN relocated to Milwaukee,WI, they collaborated with Violent Femmes drummer Victor DeLorenzo on several of his solo recordings. At this time, they released their second recording, They Are Not A Trio (FunTime).
During their Nashville period, Grauer and Zick met k.d. lang, who invited them to record on Cole Porter's "So In Love," her contribution to Red, Hot + Blue (Chrysalis). Their collaborations continued with lang joining MRS. FUN on their compositions "Lulu's Lament" (They Are Not A Trio) and "Daughtera' (NO ENNUI) Lang's 1997 release Drag (Sire) features MRS. FUN on the Jane Siberry composition "Haint it Funny."
While in Nashville, MRS. FUN also met the Indigo Girls, who invited them into the studio to provide the basic tracks on the song "Dead Man's Hill," (Swamp Ophelia-Epic). They reciprocated by adding clever background vocal tracks for MRS. FUN'S "Gossip" (NO ENNUI).
NO ENNUI, the band's third recording, showcases the ultimate in funk-driven tracks. Moe Tucker, drummer for the Velvet Underground, chose NOENNUI as one of her top 10 favorite recordings of 1995 (THE SAN FRANSICO BAY GUARDIAN). Released just a few months before NO ENNUI, Grauer's solo recording of original piano compositions Short Stories (FunTime) reflects the classical talents of this multi-dimensional artist. In 1997, MRS. FUN was invited to record a track on the EMI-Capitol tribute to Bruce Springsteen, One Step Up/Two Steps Back.
GROOVE, the band's fourth recording features nine tracks ranging from the orchestrated funk of "Repetition of Life" to the grand-piano and brush-drum ballad "What's Left." MRS. FUN truly captures the excitement of their live performances on this recording.
In 1999, MRS. FUN released The Best of MRS. FUN (Daemon Records) and CHRISTMRS. FUN (FunTime), featuring holiday classics in the MRS. FUN style.
FUNSVILLE (Daemon Records), the band's most recent release, features the "jam band" side of MRS. FUN. The music for FUNSVILLE was recorded in one afternoon, totally improvised with no preconceived structure of key signatures, time signatures or chord progressions. This recording rocks!
MRS. FUN has played select festivals and concert halls in the U.S. and Canada. They have shared the stage with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, John Schofield, Billy Cobham, k.d. lang, Arlo Guthrie, Robert Cray, Janis Ian,Violent Femmes, and the Indigo Girls, appeared at the "Women in View" Festival with Jane Siberry in Vancouver, and headlined programs at Ohio's Wexner Center for the Arts and the Arts Festival of Atlanta. In addition, they are annual headliners at Milwaukee's Summerfest. They have showcased at both the South By Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, the North By Northeast Music Conference in Toronto, and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. They have also appeared on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "Pilot 1" television program and on Wisconsin Public Television.
DISCOGRAPHY
reviews
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Une tres belle voix!
author: KristinaRobin has such a clear, beautiful voice...I love listening to this CD when I want to relax. C'est si bon!
Outstanding, wonderful gift, makes me feel happy!
author: EllenI have bought this CD for myself and for friends and relatives as gifts. The reviews are consistently outstanding. This is amazing music!
Delightful songstress - a real treat!
author: Susan HarrisonI planned to give this to mon pere for Christmas, but I will have to order another one for him. Robin and Mrs. Fun are extremely delightful, talented and entertaining on this CD. I first heard it on NPR and searched high and low for it. Voila! Susan Loves CD Baby - here it is! La Vie en Rose, c'est si bon, and padam...padam are a few of my favorites. Enjoy - I know you will!
Divine!
author: S. DempseyDivine!I have been transported! And I don't even speak a word of French!
Vin et Chocolat! Tres tres passionné!
author: Jane the NPR junkieGreat for cuddling with your sweetie and a glass of cabernet under candlelight or to spice up your dinner parties or even as background to Saturday morning chores.
Great CD to listen to (or sing along with?)!
author: claudia browneThis CD is a good one if you love French poetry, songs, et autres choses francais...There is a good selection of both soulful and joyful pieces. Robin's joie de vivre shines through the songs...and is sincerely felt by the listener.
This CD has me singing and dancing!
This is a great CD by very talented people. While playing it, I sing and dance all around the kitchen making dinner!
Takes me straight to Paris
author: Garden SoleI heard Robin on a Public Radio show, "Whad'Ya Know?" and fell in love with her strong voice. I looked for quite awhile for any CD and at last CD Baby comes through. It's everything I had hoped for. The recording quality is very good and has an almost live quality. Mrs. Fun's accompaniment adds to the ambiance. It almost make me think I can speak French.
Music that reaches right into you, no matter what language you speak!
author: Ellen HopkinsThe music on this CD could lift your spirits no matter how you feel. The songs are performed in such a way that you will be singing along whether you know what you are saying or not. I cannot remember feeling this good listening to any CD. Thank you so much for such a gift!