EMMY NOMINATED VETERAN JAZZ PIANIST, Donn Trenner RETURNS TO NEW YORK CITY FOR FIRST MAJOR ENGAGEMENT IN 25 YEARS JOINED BY MAC/BISTRO AWARD WINNING JAZZ VOCALIST, Shaynee Rainbolt
Hear the music Fridays in September at 9:30pm: 9/7, 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, at the Metropolitan Room, New York, NY
NEW YORK, NY, August 1st, 2012 – It was just over 10 years ago that Shaynee Rainbolt was performing at the Plush Room in San Francisco and met Emmy nominated musical director, conductor, arranger Donn Trenner by chance through a mutual drummer/friend that was playing the show. As it turned out, Donn Trenner was a professional colleague of Rainbolt’s Emmy Award winning Father, Bill Rainbolt, and a dear friend of her Mother, Manon. It was a very emotional reunion for Rainbolt’s Mother and Trenner, and one that Rainbolt says bonded them for life. Despite being in touch over the years that followed, it was the loss of Rainbolt’s mother in 2011 that brought them together again, sparked their recent collaboration, and Rainbolt’s insistence that Donn Trenner join her to play a major New York City nightclub again after so many years.
Donn Trenner came up in the ranks of early bebop pianists playing with the likes of Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus, and Ben Webster, appearing on over 100 jazz albums from 1950 onward. During the Big Band era he played with Ted Fio Rito, Buddy Morrow, Charlie Barnett and Tommy Dorsey. While with the Les Brown Orchestra, he worked with Bob Hope for seven years as his personal accompanist and occasional music director, participating in six of the Bob Hope International Christmas tours. As an accompanist, he has worked with such artists as Lena Horne, Anita O’Day, Vicki Carr, Dick Haymes, Jose Feliciano, Jack Jones, Frances Faye, Nelson Riddle, Paul Broadnax, Rita Moreno, Nancy Wilson, Ann-Margret, and Shirley MacLaine.
A much sought after musical director, Donn Trenner appeared nightly on the famed “Steve Allen Show,” leading the Donn Trenner Orchestra. He was also Ann-Margret’s musical director for 18 years. He worked extensively touring with Shirley MacLaine, which led to an Emmy Award nomination for music direction, arranging and conducting the television special, “Gypsy In My soul,” and in 1977, a three-hour television special from the Kennedy Center on the eve of Jimmy Carter’s Inauguration. As musical director for Nancy Wilson he conducted many International orchestras and performed in television specials for Swedish Broadcasting, German broadcasting and the BBC. In 1978, again at the Kennedy Center, he was the musical director for the “Happy Birthday Bob” show honoring Hope’s 75th birthday.
In 1996, he moved back to the East Coast where he now makes his home in Guilford, Connecticut. Weekly you can hear him leading The Hartford Jazz Orchestra, a role he took on in 2000 upon the death of acclaimed arranger and bandleader Chic Cicchetti.
Hailed as ‘one to watch’ by Scott Yanow in his book: The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide, Shaynee Rainbolt is a unique and gifted storyteller with a sumptuous tone and instrumentally oriented jazz chops. Described as “smooth, sultry, sophisticated”, she is an entertainer singing music from all eras. She swings, scats, croons and connects with every word.
A Backstage Bistro Award Winner, two-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Award Winner, and four-time MAC Award Nominee, Shaynee is also a seasoned recording artist. Her first two CD’s were released to critical acclaim on 33Jazz Records out of the UK (www.33jazz.com). Her third CD, Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt SINGS Russell Garcia, won the MAC Award for best Jazz Recording, was named one of Talkinbroadway.com’s Top 10 Vocal CD’s of 2008 and topped the jazz radio charts.
Shaynee has performed at world-class venues such as Yoshi’s and the Catalina in California, The Highline Ballroom, Jazz Standard & Iridium in New York City, Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho) and Pizza on the Park in London, The Basement in Sydney, Australia and performing arts centers and Jazz Festivals in New Zealand. Her most recent show honored the legendary composer/arranger/conductor Russell Garcia on the occasion of his 95th birthday, touring Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Hear the music Fridays in September at 9:30pm: 9/7, 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, at the Metropolitan Room, New York, NY
NEW YORK, NY, August 1st, 2012 – It was just over 10 years ago that Shaynee Rainbolt was performing at the Plush Room in San Francisco and met Emmy nominated musical director, conductor, arranger Donn Trenner by chance through a mutual drummer/friend that was playing the show. As it turned out, Donn Trenner was a professional colleague of Rainbolt’s Emmy Award winning Father, Bill Rainbolt, and a dear friend of her Mother, Manon. It was a very emotional reunion for Rainbolt’s Mother and Trenner, and one that Rainbolt says bonded them for life. Despite being in touch over the years that followed, it was the loss of Rainbolt’s mother in 2011 that brought them together again, sparked their recent collaboration, and Rainbolt’s insistence that Donn Trenner join her to play a major New York City nightclub again after so many years.
Donn Trenner came up in the ranks of early bebop pianists playing with the likes of Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus, and Ben Webster, appearing on over 100 jazz albums from 1950 onward. During the Big Band era he played with Ted Fio Rito, Buddy Morrow, Charlie Barnett and Tommy Dorsey. While with the Les Brown Orchestra, he worked with Bob Hope for seven years as his personal accompanist and occasional music director, participating in six of the Bob Hope International Christmas tours. As an accompanist, he has worked with such artists as Lena Horne, Anita O’Day, Vicki Carr, Dick Haymes, Jose Feliciano, Jack Jones, Frances Faye, Nelson Riddle, Paul Broadnax, Rita Moreno, Nancy Wilson, Ann-Margret, and Shirley MacLaine.
A much sought after musical director, Donn Trenner appeared nightly on the famed “Steve Allen Show,” leading the Donn Trenner Orchestra. He was also Ann-Margret’s musical director for 18 years. He worked extensively touring with Shirley MacLaine, which led to an Emmy Award nomination for music direction, arranging and conducting the television special, “Gypsy In My soul,” and in 1977, a three-hour television special from the Kennedy Center on the eve of Jimmy Carter’s Inauguration. As musical director for Nancy Wilson he conducted many International orchestras and performed in television specials for Swedish Broadcasting, German broadcasting and the BBC. In 1978, again at the Kennedy Center, he was the musical director for the “Happy Birthday Bob” show honoring Hope’s 75th birthday.
In 1996, he moved back to the East Coast where he now makes his home in Guilford, Connecticut. Weekly you can hear him leading The Hartford Jazz Orchestra, a role he took on in 2000 upon the death of acclaimed arranger and bandleader Chic Cicchetti.
Hailed as ‘one to watch’ by Scott Yanow in his book: The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide, Shaynee Rainbolt is a unique and gifted storyteller with a sumptuous tone and instrumentally oriented jazz chops. Described as “smooth, sultry, sophisticated”, she is an entertainer singing music from all eras. She swings, scats, croons and connects with every word.
A Backstage Bistro Award Winner, two-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Award Winner, and four-time MAC Award Nominee, Shaynee is also a seasoned recording artist. Her first two CD’s were released to critical acclaim on 33Jazz Records out of the UK (www.33jazz.com). Her third CD, Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt SINGS Russell Garcia, won the MAC Award for best Jazz Recording, was named one of Talkinbroadway.com’s Top 10 Vocal CD’s of 2008 and topped the jazz radio charts.
Shaynee has performed at world-class venues such as Yoshi’s and the Catalina in California, The Highline Ballroom, Jazz Standard & Iridium in New York City, Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho) and Pizza on the Park in London, The Basement in Sydney, Australia and performing arts centers and Jazz Festivals in New Zealand. Her most recent show honored the legendary composer/arranger/conductor Russell Garcia on the occasion of his 95th birthday, touring Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
