On June 14 & 15^th 2019, The Westchester Collaborative Theater presents vocalist Alexis Cole in her new show Canary in Combat Boots: Memoir of a Jazz Diva in the Army featuring accomplished musicians Jim Ridl on piano and David Finck on bass.

Cole’s one woman show reflects her unique perspective as she went through Army Basic Training in 2009. Equal parts harrowing and humorous, she hurls herself headlong into an entirely foreign experience and culture, and reports back to her fans weekly through handwritten notes from the front lines. We glimpse into those notes and see her struggle to survive. As the niceties of life are stripped away, she sees what extremes of grace and inhumanity we are all capable of. Her letters can be read at www.alexiscole.com/blog. Well suited to Cole’s jazz style, the music selected for the show comes mostly from the wellspring of outstanding songs written during World War II by composers from Arthur Schwartz to Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin and Frank Loesser. 

Jim Ridl is a pianist, composer, arranger and educator and resides in New Jersey. He performs internationally, nationally, and locally, with the Jim Ridl Trio and Quintet, the Dave Liebman Big Band, in duet with Diane Monroe, the Denis DiBlasio Quintet, the JD Walter Quartet, the Ant Farm Quartet and the Manhattan Bones. Recently Jim and Alexis recorded together on David Finck’s latest recording.

Bassist David Finck has played with artists from Dizzy Gillespie to Elton John. His skills both as a bassist and as a producer have led him to a diversity of musical experiences producing for artists from André Previn to Peter Cincotti. Finck is a consummate professional and an artist of depth and integrity.  He has been performing in Cole’s piano trio regularly for the last six years. His latest two albums as a leader feature Cole’s vocals on his superb original compositions. 

MORE ABOUT Alexis Cole

Called "one of the great voices of today," by Jonathan Schwartz, Alexis Cole has been compared to classic jazz singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita O'Day. She's performed with the Boston Pops and New York Philharmonic on stage at venues from Avery Fisher Hall to the Kennedy Center.  She records for Motéma Music, NY, Chesky Records, NY and Venus Records, Japan. Her nine recordings, which feature musical luminaries such as Fred Hersch, Eric Alexander, Matt Wilson, Harry Pickens, Don Braden and Pat LaBarbara, have received high praise in the jazz press and are spun on radio worldwide. In addition to her many performances on great stages, Alexis can be seen at top jazz venues like Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, The Jazz Standard, Blues Alley, and Billboard Live, Tokyo.  Cole is the recipient of a Swing Journal Gold Disk award, and was a winner of the NY Jazzmobile and Montreux Jazz Festival vocal competitions, and a finalist of the Sarah Vaughan Competition.  Alexis studied voice and piano at the University of Miami and William Paterson University, and holds a Masters of Music from Queens College. She has also trained in Indian Classical singing at the Jazz India Vocal Institute in Mumbai.  She heads the Jazz Voice Program at SUNY Purchase and also teaches privately. She performs and conducts master classes around the world.  

Tickets, $25, can be purchased online at: https://canaryincombatboots.brownpapertickets.com/

(limited seating available; advance purchase is strongly recommended.) Refreshments will be available. 

MORE ABOUT The Westchester Collaborative Theater 

The Westchester Collaborative Theater is a multicultural, cooperative theater company located in Ossining, NY, dedicated to developing new work for the stage and bringing live theater to the community. It is comprised of local playwrights, actors, and directors who employ a Lab approach in which new stage works are nurtured through an iterative process of readings, critiques, and rewrites. When work is ready for production, it is produced for the public at various local venues. 

WCT is committed to furthering theater arts in our community. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a recipient of production grants from ArtsWestchester and New York State Council on the Arts.