DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT
So ungewöhnlich wie sie selbst, ist auch die Wahl des Instruments ihrer musikalischen Selbstverwirklichung: Die große, 47saitige Konzertharfe mußte es schon sein. Mittlerweile hat sie diese ergänzt durch eine eigenes für sie gebaute kleine elektronische »Streetharp«.
Deborah Henson-Conant hat die Orchesterharfe aus der verschämten Ecke geholt und als Soloinstrument ganz weit nach vorne gestellt. »Was Chuck Berry und Elvis einst für die Gitarren getan haben, hat Deborah für die Harfe geschafft«, stellte die Denver Post fest.
Schluß mit dem engelhaften Getue scheuer Fraulichkeit an den Saiten. Power, musikalische und menschliche Überzeugungskraft und ideenreiche Kompositionen haben Deborah Henson-Conant an die Spitze der Harfenistinnen gebracht.
13 Alben dokumentieren diesen Werdegang (davon sind acht bei Laika-Records erschienen und 3 bei grp). Ihre Kompositionen bewegen sich zwischen Funk und Folk, Klassik und Jazz, Blues und Flamenco und viele Lieder von Deborah Henson-Conant sind mittlerweile zu Standards geworden. »Deborah Henson-Conant ist ein musikalisches Abenteuer«, stellte der CBS Mornig Star fest.
Ob auf großen Festivals oder in kleinen Clubs: Deborah liebt den Kontakt zu ihrem Publikum, sie spielt nicht für ihr Ego, sie spielt für die Menschen.
1988 »entdeckte« Jens Peter Müller auf dem Folk Festival in Edingburgh Deborah Henson-Conant und wir holten sie 1989 zum erstenmal für eine Tournee nach Deutschland. 22 Jahre sind seitdem vergangen und Deborah Henson- Conant entwickelte sich zum »Star« und zur Nr. 1 der Jazzharfe. Sie spielte mit Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Danny Gottlieb, Patti Austin, Garry Burton, Babara Dennerlein, den Boston Pops und vielen anderen. Aber vorallem spielt sie immer ihre Art von Musik: Ohne Schubladen, von der Klassik und vom Jazz kommend, von der Flower-Power Kaliforniens geprägt und ohne Berührungsängste vor musikalischen Einflüssen und mit der unnachahmlichen Kunst des Entertainments.
Deborah Henson-Conant sings and plays the harp, tells stories and composes symphonic music that runs the gamut from bombastic to tender. She has been described as “the wild woman of the harp” by bandleader Doc Severinsen and “the talented love-child of André Previn and
Lucille Ball” by NPR's Scott Simon. Her playing ranges from raucous to delicate and her performances blur the line between musical performance and theatrical event.
Deborah herself is impossible to categorize. She has made her own path, composing musical theater since the age of 12, first studying classical harp, then developing her own version of swing and Latin jazz and finally synthesizing all three elements into a new genre of musical
performance. Her shows mix jazz, folk and flamenco with a theatrical narrative of storytelling and humor.
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DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT THE CELTIC ALBUM (1998), Ordernr. 35101022 16,00 € has many tunes familiar to Americans as well as some Henson-Conant Celtic-flavored originals and tunes she heard for the first time in her travels. •The Ash Grove, • Comin' Thru The Rye •The Drunken Sailor •She Moved Through the Fair• Loch Lomond •St. Anne's Reel •My Love is Like a Red Red Rose•The Mason's Apron and others. All-instrumental album, varied in arrangement from solo harp cuts to upbeat tunes for multiple harps. "  |
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| DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT alter ego (1995) Ordernr 35100852 16,00Euro STYLE: uncategorizable, with elements of folk, jazz, blues, Middle Eastern and a singer-songwriter flavor. "Cindy,Cindy," "Belinda," "Wild Mountain Thyme/ Summertime," "996,"Altered Ego," "The Dogs of Somerville," "The Nightingale." and others. Also includes Deborah's most requested song, "Congratulations, You Made It This Far (The Birthday Song)". DETAILS: harp & voice, with some synth & keyboard. |
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| DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT Just For You (1995) Ordernr 95-063 16,00Euro is Deborah's first live CD, recorded during her 1994 European tour. SONGS INCLUDE: Dance with Me, The Phoenix, Under the Bed, Watermelon Boogie, Closer to You, Danger Zone, Baroque Flamenco, The Rain King, Budapest, Just for You. With Davey Tulloch, percussion & Wolfgang Diekmann, bass. |
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| DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT naked music (1994) Ordernr. 94-051 Solo harp and voice. STYLE: Various, from classical to flamenco, including some blues, celtic influence, etc. SONGS INCLUDE: Solo versions of - Love is on Your Side, Nataliana, Baroque Flamenco, Danger Zone, Home in Your Arms Again, Johnny Ramsay, New Blues, Dance with Me, All Through the Night, Closer to You. DETAILS: Solo harp and voice. |
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| DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT Budapest (1992) Ordernr. 93-039 16,00Euro recorded in Hungary, is contemporary original jazz for harp, guitar, percussion, bass and sax. SONGS INCLUDE: (All Originals by DHC or the band) Coqueta, Budapest, Inevitability of You, Fool of the World, Pava Diablo, Nature Girl, Swamp Ballet, Tiger Dreams, Daphne's Madness, Kerry Dance. DETAILS: harp, guitar, percussion, bass & saxophone. With Victor Bailey (bass), Chieli Minucci (guitar), George Jinda (percussion), Mark Johnson (saxophone). |
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| DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT The Gift (1999) 16,00Euro Ordernr. 35100992 A collection of traditional carols from Catalonia, England, Russia, France, Sicily, America, Czechoslovakia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Middle East and more. STYLE: 15 Fantasies on Traditional Christmas Carols from around the world. Styles from Country Western to soft Gospel to Classical. DETAILS: solo harp |
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| DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT ROUND THE CORNER (1993) Ordernr. 87-203 16,00Euro is a re-release of Deborah's 1987 recording of jazz standards. Deborah Henson-Conant - harp, John Lockwood - bass, Bob Gulotti - drums Over the Rainbow ,Take Five, Round the Corner, Georgia on My Mind, Blue Bossa, Swingin' Shepherd Blues, Summertime |
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