barbara fasano has been hailed as one of the nation’s most stunning and soulful interpreters of American popular song. This past year has been a thrilling one for Ms. Fasano: in addition to taking home a 2010 New York Nightlife Award, she played all three of New York’s top supper clubs – Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, The Carlyle, and the Oak Room at the Algonquin.

In early 2010, her new show with Eric Comstock, "This Thing Called Love," played a four-week engagement at New York’s legendary Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel and received unanimous critical praise. Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the show, "A witty his-and-hers exploration of romantic chemistry ... a civilized, erudite musical stream of consciousness," and declared, "Comely Barbara Fasano bears a vocal resemblance to Lena Horne ... Mr. Comstock and Ms. Fasano are turning the neighborhood into a hotbed of pleasure." Frank Scheck of The New York Post raved, "Fasano is a gorgeous, soulful singer who has an actor’s intensity in whatever she sings." Rex Reed of The New York Observer noted, "She gives off palpable electricity", and David Finkle of The Huffington Post observed, "The slim, raven-haired Fasano applies her mezzo to solos so that she continually allows feelings to simmer and crackle ... singing Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night" as well or better than anyone has ever sung it, she remains the mistress of what is one of the most magnificent popular songs ever written. Her repeated "Do you love me" is heartbreaking."

An actress and vocalist,"one of the coolest singers in town …" (Time Out New York), "spellbinding ... a beauty to hear and behold" (Daily News), she is regarded as "masterful ... one of our most astute interpreters of song ... hypnotic, superb ... a one-woman marquee in lights" (Cabaret Scenes). Jazz critic Will Friedwald calls Barbara "a charismatic stylist who effectively channels the spirits of the great über-divas Lena Horne and Barbra Streisand."

Barbara is a three-time MAC winner and ten-time nominee, and a three-time Back Stage Bistro Award winner. Her newest CD, Written In The Stars, a Harold Arlen collection, took home both the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs Award and the Back Stage Bistro Award for Record of the Year. Soulful and personal, both intimate and swinging, the CD has garnered praise in publications as diverse as JazzTimes ("taste, built-in dramatic chops, respect for lyrics ...") and Playbill ("bluesy, jazzy, swinging ... praise the band and the singer!") and has been played on radio stations around the world. The New Republic’s David Hajdu raves, "With this record, Barbara Fasano proves that she is not just a great Italian crooner, an heir to Sinatra for our time, but a jazz singer of the first rank." Michael P. Gladstone writes in All About Jazz, "Barbara Fasano is the real deal! A natural romantic interpreter ... The beauty of the Arlen songs and the breathlessness of Fasano’s beautiful singing comes fully through ... demands repeated listening and appreciation." The CD features Barbara with a first-call jazz ensemble, led by John di Martino, with Sean Smith, Tim Horner, Kahlil Kwame Bell, John Hart, Joel Frahm, and Tim Ouimette, and is based upon her critically lauded show, i had a love once: arlen songs. Barbara was also awarded Record of the Year for her previous CD, The Girls of Summer, an eclectic mix ranging from Springsteen to Sondheim, based on her one-woman show of the same title.

Barbara grew up on Long Island, New York, in a spirited Italian Catholic household – excellent preparation for a life in show business! From her early childhood, music and stories were a way of life. Her mother made the Sunday lasagna while listening to Italian American singers like Jerry Vale on the radio. Her father listened to Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby and sang along in an effortless baritone, teaching Barbara many of his favorite songs. From the early Streisand albums, she learned the music of her favorite composer, Harold Arlen, and learned to play the guitar, memorizing recordings by Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and other singer-songwriters.

Combine all this with her grandparents’ stories of Neapolitan singers and vaudeville and you see how her musical identity was forged. Her far-ranging musical choices and personal connection to the lyric set her apart, reflecting Barbara’s desire to expand the American Popular Songbook and include the music of her generation. Within her eclectic choices, what remains consistent is her ability to invest a lyric with deep emotional truth, creating virtual one-act plays out of each song.

Barbara made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2005 as part of the Harold Arlen Centennial Concert, and in 2007 performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall for New York Festival of Song. Other concert appearances include Lincoln Center’s American Songbook at the Allen Room, Rose Hall, Town Hall and New York’s 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists series. Cabaret and nightclub engagements include Birdland, Iridium, Café Sabarsky, Feinstein’s, The Carlyle, and The Algonquin. Coast to coast, she has headlined at performing arts centers and festivals including Caramoor, Arizona Jazz Festival, Jersey Jazz, Kanbar Center for the Performing Arts and Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival. Barbara lives in New York with her husband, musician Eric Comstock.

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