About the Artist
B. Iris Tanner's musical background encompasses many years of childhood piano lessons, accompanying experience for high school and college musicals, eight years of flute lessons, seven years of classical voice lessons and several solo concerts in her former incarnation as a lyric soprano. However, it includes no songwriting training whatsoever. This did not stop her from writing songs, which she began doing as a teenager. It was not until she reached her mid-thirties that these songs saw the light of day, first at Boston-area open mikes and at the Boston Songwriters' Workshop. Her music evolved from eclectic folk to cabaret-style songs focusing on the everyday absurdities of life and love, characterized by witty and quirky lyrics and memorable tunes. Her songs have been performed at the 2002 Boston Cabaret Festival at Scullers, TCAN (The Center for the Arts in Natick), Blacksmith House at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theater.. Her song "Warning Labels" was selected for inclusion in the Boston Sings Boston III revue performed by Centastage at Club Café in fall 2003. She is a member of the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists and ASCAP. Other artists on the CD include: Sophia Bilides, who received the 2005 IRNE Award for Best Female Cabaret Performer (Independent Reviewers of New England) for her show Young And Foolish / Are You Having Any Fun?, and was named one of Bay Windows' Top Ten Cabaret Performers of 2004. She has been reviewed nationally in Cabaret Scenes Magazine and Cabaret Hotline Online. Described as "a consummate interpreter" (Theater Mirror) who "spins gold" (Bay Windows), she performs annually at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston. Jon-Daniel Durbin, a veteran musical theater performer who has appeared in numerous leading musical roles, among them Frederik in "A Little Night Music" and the title role of "Sweeney Todd", both at the Publick Theatre of Boston. Other notable starring roles include Harold Hill in "The Music Man," Michael in "I Do! I Do!" and The Beast in "Beauty and the Beast" at Washington's Kennedy Center. A second cousin of film star Deanna Durbin, this Louisville, Kentucky native recently previewed his debut cabaret offering "Listen To My Heart" at a benefit for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford, MA. Will McMillan, a singer, songwriter and producer who hosted "Will & Company," a concert series highlighing Boston-area singers and songwriters. It earned him a 2002 IRNE for Best Cabaret Show in a Small Venue. He performs with singer Bobbi Carrey in shows on Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Broadway, and Hollywood. For the past four years, he has been part of the quartet, "At the Movies", which garnered a 2003 IRNE for Best Cabaret Group Performance. He was a Fellow at the O'Neill Theater Center's 10th Cabaret Symposium and also attended the Cabaret Conference at Yale. Jan Peters, 2003 IRNE Award Winner (Best Female Cabaret Artist) and Bay Windows Newspaper "Best Cabaret Performer Of The Year 2002." Jan is a Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium Fellow whose work draws from an extensive repertoire of Broadway and standard material. Recent performances include the prestigious Mabel Mercer Foundation's Annual Cabaret Conventions in New York and The Hamptons. Jan's show Old Fashioned, Please! was named one of "Boston's Top Ten" and was honored with a 2004 IRNE Award nomination. Musical theatre and cabaret performer Jinny Sagorin, who made her debut at Scullers Jazz Club in February 2005 with a sold-out performance of her show, "It's For You," which launched her first solo CD to critical acclaim. Born in Durban in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Jinny recently became a U.S. citizen. She was one of thirty-six performers selected from nation-wide auditions to attend the prestigious Cabaret Conference at Yale University in 2003, and has performed at Club Café, Encore, The Center for Arts in Natick, Bla
Product Description
In the tradition of John Bucchino’s “Grateful,” "Magnum Opuss" is a compilation of 15 original cabaret songs by Boston-based singer-songwriter B. Iris Tanner. The studio recordings feature 6 prominent cabaret singers from the New England area — Sophia Bilides, Jon-Daniel Durbin, Will McMillan, Jan Peters, Jinny Sagorin and Mary Scarlata-Rowe — as well as several songs performed by Iris herself. The songs encompass an extraordinary variety of moods and subject matter, ranging from the adorably silly "Pets are Better" and "My Lover the Car" (which focuses on the connection between cars and sex) to the outrageous humor of "The Trouble with Men" and "Warning Labels" (which men should really come with), to the quietly inspirational tone of "The Only Way Out" and "Connections." And of course, there are a number of songs about taking a chance on love, several with surprising twists. Musical theater aficionados should appreciate the bouncy tunes and clever lyrics; fans! of cabaret and easy-listening music should be charmed by the quality and drama of each rendition.
