BANU GIBSON

Banu (bah-new) Gibson stands virtually at the top of her field. A superior and swinging jazz singer, Banu is one of the few vocalists of her generation to stick exclusively to songs of the 1920s and '30s. She doesn't just copy singers of the past, but mixes fresh renditions of standards and obscurities. Banu is a powerful force on stage. Her enthusiasm and showmanship are highlighted by her wide range and versatility, spanning Bessie Smith to Billie Holiday; the Boswell Sisters to Sophie Tucker; and Lee Wiley to Fanny Brice.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Hollywood, Florida, Banu studied dance from the age of three and voice from the age of nine. A natural performer, she sang in a variety of school musicals, graduated from college with a degree in music and theater, and started working professionally as a dancer while still in her teens. She was exposed to traditional jazz while working as a singer and dancer opposite the great Dixieland trumpeter Phil Napoleon at Jackie Gleason's Joe The Bartender room in Miami Beach. Banu moved to New York City to work with the road band of Your Father's Mustache, and traveled the continent from Victoria, B.C. to Guantanamo, Cuba. After a period working at Disneyland in The Class of '27 show, she moved to New Orleans where she formed the New Orleans Hot Jazz Band in 1981.

Since then, Banu and her sextet have been featured at numerous concerts, jazz festivals and on recordings. She has been on radio and television broadcasts: PBS television series Dixieland Jazz from New Orleans; Joan Lunden's syndicated show Everyday, twice; three times as American Public Radio's featured vocalist on Riverwalk. Live from the Landing; sang the title song for the Great Chefs of New Orleans series and was seen on Entertainment Tonight. In 1986, Banu toured Europe with the late cornetist, Wild Bill Davison. She has continuously performed abroad with her band in Germany, England, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and with a contingent of her band in Australia.

Other high points include performing in Dick Hyman's Jazz in July in 1991, and her band's appearances with many symphony orchestras including the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Sacramento, and New Orleans symphonies, and a three-night concert at the Hollywood Bowl with John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra.

With a repertoire of over 350 songs in the 1920 to '40 period, Banu's performances cover many highlights of America's golden age of popular music. Not content to copy the past, Banu Gibson & the New Orleans Hot Jazz Orchestra are creative within the boundaries of the genre. They consistently invent fresh and imaginative variations of songs as old as 60 years, giving new life to timeless, unforgettable music with their irresistible presentation.

For Booking Information Contact:

Ted Schmidt & Associates, Inc. 800-972-1108