Program for Madeline Tasquin & Friends + Smitty & Julija
Friday, November 5, 2021 at 8 pm
Download a copy of the program here.
San Francisco Leonard Cohen Festival presents
Madeline Tasquin & Friends
Smitty & Julija
Program
All songs by Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) except where indicated
Smitty & Julija
Suzanne
Show Me the Place
Joan of Arc
The Gypsy Wife
Famous Blue Raincoat
A Thousand Kisses Deep
Democracy
Anthem
Thanks for the Dance
Come Healing
First We Take Manhattan
Nightingale
I’m Your Man
Dance Me
Tennessee Waltz
Madeline Tasquin & friends
featured guests Chelsea Coleman, voice; Diana Gameros, voice & guitar; Graham Patzner, voice & violin; Daniel Fleischer, drums
Bird on the Wire
Story of Isaac
A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes
The Partisan (music: Anna Marly, text: Hy Zaret)
Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
The Old Revolution
The Butcher
You Know Who I Am
Lady Midnight
Tonight Will Be Fine
A note on The Partisan
The Partisan is an anti-fascist anthem about the French Resistance in World War II. The song was composed in 1943 by Russian-born Anna Marly (1917–2006), with lyrics by French Resistance leader Emmanuel d’Astier de la Vigerie (1900–1969), and originally titled La Complainte du partisan (English: The lament of the partisan). Marly performed it and other songs on the BBC’s French service, through which she and her songs were an inspiration to the Resistance. A number of French artists have recorded and released versions of the song since, but it is better recognized globally in its significantly, both musically and in the meaning of its lyrics, different English adaptation by Hy Zaret (1907–2007), best known as the lyricist of Unchained Melody.
Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) recorded his version, using Zaret’s adaptation, and released it on his 1969 album Songs from a Room, and as a 7-inch single in Europe. Cohen’s version re-popularized the song and is responsible for the common misconception that the song was written by Cohen.
About the musicians
Singing in both English and French, Canadian-Californian Madeline Tasquin’s songs dip from jazz-tinged folk to odd-meter soul, to twisted pop ballad and delicately dark fairy-tale. The thread that weaves it all together is Madeline’s disarming stage presence, that dips and weaves in response to the moment, the people, the space. In addition to writing, performing and touring her genre-bending music, Madeline has played a supportive role in live or studio settings for everyone from Fantastic Negrito and Beats Antique, to Belgium’s Furia and Montreal’s Bernard Adamus. Madeline recently released her two EP recordings on a vinyl double-EP entitled Future/Sun, using the pre-order to raise money for the New Georgia Project promoting voter turnout for the Georgia senate elections in January 2021. Madeline also recently announced the news of her first artist-in-residency at Willipa Bay AIR in southern Washington state in September 2022, and her plans to spend the time to complete her first full length album, Fool’s Gold, around themes of addiction from personal to societal, sure to be woven with her recent experiences mining for gold in the Cariboo BC gold fields. The best way to stay tuned to the music and adventure of this multi-faceted artist is to subscribe to her Patreon page where she posts regular updates, sneak previews and works in progress to an inner circle of fans supporting her continued creative growth through the popular crowdfunded-patronage platform.
Smitty & Julija are Ojai, California-based artists known worldwide for their beautiful soothing sound, featuring paired vocal harmonies and sensual interpretations of both their original music and songs from their favorite singer/songwriters. They are renowned for their tribute concerts to the music of Leonard Cohen. Their recently-released album of original songs, Made In Ojai follows their top-selling CD and digital album, To Leonard With Love, a tribute work to the songwriter Leonard Cohen.
Julija Zonic (she responds with a smile to “Julia” or her native “Yooleeya”) is a Croatian-born singer, songwriter living in Ojai since 2008. A professional entertainer since childhood, her rich, sweet vocals and dynamic range cut across all song styles. Julija was a well-known young television and stage singer in the pre-war former Yugoslavia, before emigrating to the US in 1999. Her songwriting reflects the complexity and intimacy of relationships, and is influenced by her Eastern European roots.
Smitty West is a pianist, vocalist, songwriter, 2009 MAVRIC award winner for song of the year, Triple-nominated for song of the year, acoustic, foreign language, and comedy. His dry, humorist writing style punctuates the mellow, dark sound of the Smitty and Julija song poetry sound. He’s the principal pianist for the Ventura Jazz Orchestra, and the founder of Ojai Songwriters Anonymous, an Ojai Valley artist group dedicated to the support of local music.