Separated by a mere piano room while living at a NYU freshmen dorm, Grace Weber and Julian Waterfall Pollack discovered that not only do they express mutual affection for jazz, pop, and soul music, they were also born on the same day, the same year. Both had also taken awards at the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), a national organization that provides scholarships for young artists. Grace and Julian quickly became friends and started writing music together. Within the year, Grace and Julian completed thirteen songs and recorded at Avatar Studios (NY) under the direction of renowned vocal instructor, Bruce Kolb, who has taught and trained vocalists from the Metropolitan Opera to Broadway, including Tony Award winners Glenn Close and Liza Minelli.
Before coming together for this self-titled album, which fuses a fresh blend of pop, jazz, adult-contemporary, R&B, and gospel influences, Grace and Julian already had wide fan-bases from doing their own solo work. Pollack's dynamically forward and technically ferocious piano playing had garnered the attention of many of his peers on the west coast, as well as earning praises from jazz legends such as Albert "Tootie" Heath. In "Tootie's" words, "I want to be the first to say it: Julian is a genius." Grace is no less accomplished. At the age of 18, she had already performed with the likes of Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, and Patti Austin, appearing on the same stage at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA, as they honored John Mathis for the Ella Award. Grace has also appeared on the TODAY SHOW and "Showtime at the Apollo".
Grace and Julian released their self-titled album under their own label, Junebeat Records. With the shift in the industry of CD sales declining, and digital sales taking over, the duo believes strongly in marketing one's own music through playing shows and spreading the music through word-of-mouth. These days, Grace and Julian are playing gigs constantly in the New York area. From restaurants to private shows, they have captured audience after audience. Through years of performing live, the duo has a vast repertoire of songs memorized and can sight-read and improv on the spot.
PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS
**JULIAN POLLACK**
Pollack is the recipient of numerous prestigious national awards, such as the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) Level One Gold Prize and member of its Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars, Down Beat's Student Music Award for "Outstanding High School Jazz Instrumental Group" (2004, 2005), as well as 1st Place, Combo Division in consecutive years (2005, 2006) and "Outstanding Combo Soloist" three years running (2004, 2005, 2006) at Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Festival. He served as the principal pianist for the San Francisco Bay Area's preeminent honors youth ensemble, the SFJAZZ All-Star High School Ensemble, for his four high school years, making him the very first "full-scholarship" student of the program. He has performed with the likes of Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon, Eric Harland, and Andre Hayward, and at prestigious venues such as Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Lincoln Center, and Yoshi's, and international festivals including Montreux, Umbria, and Monterey. In June of 2007, Pollack was featured on NPR's program "Piano Jazz" hosted by Marian McPartland.
www.julianpollackmusic.com
**GRACE WEBER**
Grace was honored at age 15 to sing at the wedding of soccer icon Mia Hamm and baseball great Nomar Garciaparra in Santa Barbara, CA. At 16, she was invited to sing at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York for the nationally televised show, "Showtime at the Apollo". In January 2006, Grace was selected as a winner in Popular Voice by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) through their annual talent and scholarship competition, which receives over 6000 applications. Grace is also a 2006 Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of 20 nationwide, nominated by the NFAA and chosen by The White House. And as mentioned above, Grace performed for The Society of Singers annual fundraising dinner in Beverly Hills California on September 12th 2006 along with industry giants Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Patti Austin and others as they presented the prestigious Ella Award to the legendary Johnny Mathis. Ginny Mancini, professional singer and widow of Henry Mancini, invited Grace to be part of this event after seeing her performance in the NFAA's Body and Soul in New York City in April 2006. Grace performed at the NFAA show, Breakthrough, at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York on April 24, 2007. She appeared on The Today Show on NBC, April 28, 2007 to talk about this performance.
www.graceweber.com
