Stevie Holland continues to chart her own path as a completely original artist and unique song stylist. A dynamic performer and intelligent lyricist, she’s traversed many musical worlds, headlining at top concert halls, jazz clubs and cabaret rooms, developing an unusually eclectic fan base. Her current project is a one-woman theatrical adventure entitled Love, Linda: The Life Of Mrs. Cole Porter (Original Cast Recording). With music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Stevie with Gary William Friedman, Love, Linda stars Stevie as Linda Lee Thomas, the Southern beauty who married and was a driving force behind legendary songwriter Cole Porter at the dawn of the roaring twenties. Though Cole Porter was gay, their companionship and love lasted through 35 years of marriage and together they lived a spectacular, glamour-filled life. With swinging, jazz-inflected arrangements by Gary William Friedman, Porter’s timeless music and lyrics weave through the compelling narrative, examining the darker sides of Linda and Cole's life, while celebrating the deep love they shared. The cast album was recorded and released February 2010. After two sold-out runs last year at the Triad Theater, Love, Linda has been touring regionally in the East and is currently in development. Her previous CD Before Love Has Gone, a collection of rarely recorded classics, standards and original songs, including the title track penned by Stevie and Gary William Friedman, received great acclaim from jazz, pop and cabaret critics. It ranked in the top 100 jazz CDs on iTunes for ten weeks, and was picked by USA TODAY as a Top CD of The Year. Grammy award winner Todd Barkan joined forces as co-producer with Tim Peierls and Friedman on Before Love Has Gone, helping to shape what has been Stevie’s most important release yet. Barkan, who has recorded upward of 1,000 albums, describes Stevie’s performance of “Lazy Afternoon” as “One of the finest vocals I have ever recorded. (EPK Video: ?v=AyZE3xZ2pH8) Stevie’s last two releases More Than Words Can Say and Restless Willow charted at radio stations across the country, ending up on a variety of top ten lists including KSDS FM, San Diego, CA’s Top Ten CDs of the Year and the Cape Fear Jazz Appreciation Society in NC’s Top Ten CDs of the Year. The track “This Is It” on More Than Words Can Say crossed over to the smooth jazz world and remained in the top 25 on the RadioWave Jazz/Fusion chart for 2 months. On Restless Willow, Stevie recorded "Jeg Elsker Dig", a haunting Norwegian love ballad (co-written with Friedman, based on an Edvard Grieg classic), which made such an impact on the Norwegian community, that Stevie was invited to sing it for the King and Queen of Norway. The youngest of seven children, Stevie grew up in a music-filled, Norwegian-Italian household in Westchester County, New York. Her father was a tenor sax-playing commercial artist and avid jazz record collector, and her mother was a church soloist who also performed in recitals and operas. (Her Uncle, Mike Olivieri was a bandleader and pianist who served as Fred Astaire's Music Director in the USO). Stevie was introduced to composer Gary William Friedman as a potential writing collaborator, and the partnership evolved to yet another level when they married. Their first collaboration was on the CD Do You Ever Dream?, a collection of spiritual songs, and This Is America, an anthem released as a CD single fundraiser in response to the tragedy of September 11th. Stevie then turned to the American standard songbook, performing a one-woman show entitled Almost Like Being In Love, which set the material for a CD of the same name and earned Stevie the BACK STAGE MAGAZINE Bistro Award for Outstanding Vocalist of the Year. Among other Holland-Friedman songwriting projects, Stevie was heard for several years singing a theme song for Joey Reynolds ?v=Kwl8VKTUmic, the popular Rock n' Roll Hall-of-Famer/ Radio talk show host, which was played nightly on his national WOR Radio program. Stevie's sense of humor, vulnerability, swinging jazz phrasing and sheer vocal beauty shine through with her recordings, and now on stage with Love, Linda.
