Bettina Jonic

Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Jazz, classical, pop, musical theatre, etc.

Status:

Most recent release, The Bitter Mirror: Bettina Jonic sings Brecht & Dylan (original release 1975, re-released 2010)

See also:

Wikipedia's entry for Bettina Jonic

Motéma Music's Bettina Jonic page

Comparisons:

Lotte Lenya, Agnes Bernelle, Dagmar Krause

Covers/own material:

Covers and own

General comments:

Bettina Jonic aligns herself with classic interpreters of Brecht and adds Dylan to the mix. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)

Recommended first album:

The Bitter Mirror: Bettina Jonic sings Brecht & Dylan is the first we've heard

Recordings include:

The Bitter Mirror: Bettina Jonic sings Brecht & Dylan (original release 1975, re-released 2010)

The Bitter Mirror: Bettina Jonic sings Brecht & Dylan

Release info:

1975; 2010—Motéma Music—MTM - 50

Availability:

See Motéma Musics' site

Ecto priority:

Recommended

Group members:

Bettina Jonic—vocals

Guest artists:

David Perry—piano
Julian Coward—flute, piccolo
Hale Hambleton—clarinet, alto saxophone
Cliff Haines—trumpet
Roland Harker—guitar
John Gray—double bass
Jim Toomey—drums

Produced by:

Laurence Aston

Comments:

This is a re-release of a rare 1975 album. Bettina Jonic's interpretations of Brecht can stand next to those of Lotte Lenya with ease. She has something of Lenya's expressiveness and all of Dagmar Krause's theatrical ease with the songs. The Dylan songs bend, but hardly break in these capable hands. It's odd how well "Like a Rolling stone" fits next to "Pirate Jenny". The songs' bitter themes of war and suffering are unfortunately just as poignant today. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)

Thanks to stjarnell@yahoo.com for work on this entry.