Debra Dicembre :: Update


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Update	Just Before I took off for New York at the beginning of May I had the wonderful opportunity to meet photographer Lewis Morley.	Lewis Morley & Debra Dicembre
Poetry	In 1963 Lewis photographed Christine Keeler at the height of the Profumo affair. He captured an image that became an icon of the 20th century, synonymous with scandal evermore.
Music	Life would never be the same for the girl the photographer or the chair! Lewis gave a presentation on his life and work. Fantastic. An inspiring and humble man.
Photos
Biography	NEW YORK Wow...where do I begin...	Central Park Tulips - Central Park DOMA e Mia French Cookin' at BB King's Bobby Day :: Debra Dicembre :: Jim Coletti New York's Finest With Anne At DOMA Ellen's Orchid - Long Island New York
CD'S	I had a fantastic time catching up with old friends, sitting in on gigs and jam sessions, presenting my book of poems and photography to agents and publishers, shopping, eating, writing, galleries...heaven.
Contact	I also took with me some original music and some jazz standards I've been working on. Everything went well and was well received. So we'll see. I love New York, no doubt about it. It is my dream to live, work, study and produce my art here. The energy, the vibe, the volume of creative material, both raw and presented. Just an onslaught of inspiration. It's all here. And as with anything, it's not what you're looking at, it's what you see. Like attracts like.
Mary and Jesus In Utero	People ask me if I think NY has changed , and yes it has. For the better in many ways. But what hasn't changed is the remarkable propensity for opportunity. Just brimming. It was an action packed 3 weeks. On any given night there's at least 8 to 10 live gigs you wouldn't mind seeing , including poetry jams and theatre. I was staying downtown on the Lower East Side, a neighbourhood which has undergone a major re-vamp and is nice and close to Soho, East & West Village, Greenwich and all the stuff south of 14th. I did venture uptown for galleries and gigs. The Met had major retrospectives of Diane Arbus and Max Ernst. Also uptown, I sat in on the weekly jam at SMOKE, and saw some great gigs here. One of the best jazz clubs in town. Also caught the singers jam at Cleopatra's Needle . Educational. Midtown by day is not really my scene, but come night fall, there's some great gigs here. I caught up with an old friend, Jim Coletti, who plays blues sax in a band called French Cookin'. It was great to see him and sit in (sing) with the band at their gig at B.B King Blues Club and Grill . Also in midtown I hung out with good friend David Hazeltine playing at Jezebel. A great arranger, composer and piano player. I also caught David playing with the Mike DiRubbo quartet at Kitano - band included Eric Alexander and Joe Farnsworth; and accompanying jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro at the Jazz Standard . He has a new CD called Modern Standards coming out this summer (northern). Fantastic to squeeze a meal in with friend and colleague Hugh Wilson . A good Aussie bloke doing well. I even managed to head out to Long Island for the day and catch up with some friends there. Anyone who knows me knows I love to run and drink coffee...not, of course at the same time. Suffice to say, I managed to hunt down the best coffee/grub/vibe in NYC, that would be DOMA in the West Village...a new discovery and daily pilgrimage. Cafe Gitane also deserves a mention, an old familiar sweater and a little closer to home in Soho. I'd visit one or the other to write each day...or both. And as for running, the Jacqueline KO Reservoir in Central Park, along with a self designed route from my hotel to the Statue Of Liberty, did the trick. Swim not included. Altho' with all the walking I did around NY from shop to gallery to cafe (in ridiculous heels I might add) I hardly needed to run. But it was good to clear the head and my feet appreciated the comfort. A great gallery, book store and resource I'll let you in on is powerHouse Books . Check it out. Saw many other friends and made some new ones. I probably visited over 30 different galleries. It would take me another 3 weeks to tell you all about it...and don't even start me on the shopping...gah! So now , having returned to Sydney, it's back to gigs, teaching, writing, modelling, photography, developing projects and enjoying the ever evolving work of art that is life. Kelly is pretty glad I'm home. And maybe a few others too... Happy Birthday to me and my fellow Gemini's : Mark Isaacs , Sean Wayland and Gordon Rytmeister

Dinner and Jazz make the NY skyline shine a little brighter. With friend Dr D Milch.
Cafe Gitane
Writing At Gitane
		K E L L Y G I R L ... aka Kelonious Monk...the Octadog!
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26 JAN 2004 - Australia Day...Hyde Park Main Stage...10.15am - 12.35pm...Debra Dicembre performing with Jazz Big Band 'Kinderjazz'

This gig was SO much fun...feather boa and big band, spell FUN to me...great band, great audience, great music. Just a great day all round!

Have returned from NYC (see above). Ready to put some new music together. Happy Birthday all my fellow Gemini's.

Well here's the condensed version... Off to New York for 3 weeks. Yay! Writing lots of poems , and working on a book of poems and photographs (My Body Is A Temple). Music on the back burner.

Still enjoying taking time out from music, still mixing Manhattan Love Bistro CD, so I don't feel too far from it. On my way to New York for a couple of weeks in May, working on a book of poems and photographs titled 'My Body Is A Temple...wherein lies a fire'. Will give you a sneak preview in the weeks to come.

Eek!........Have had major computer crash, but am now recovering nicely...thankyou. Busy preparing artwork and photography for new site, writing poetry, designing other people's sites and audio/visual intro's...as well as learning new software...which is why I haven't updated here for a while... Life is good...Will do my first 'Big Band' gig with Kinderjazz on Australia Day in Hyde Park, Main Stage..10.15am - 12.30. Lots of fun! We will do 3 sets in amongst a number of other celebratory items.

Something caught my eye this morning (Jan 24)...........'Words are the audible that cling to the inaudible'......yum.

From Debra:- If you've ever visited this site before, you'll notice straight away that it's quite different. I hope you enjoy it and find it interesting. The previous site had a Gig Guide of live performances. Towards the end of this year, as I'm putting the final touches on the Manhattan Love Bistro CD, I'm exploring other areas of creative expression. I have decided to put down music for a while. A strange decision perhaps, on the eve of a CD release, but one none the less, I have made. When the CD is finished, I'll do a few gigs and keep you posted about that, on this site. Till then, I'm really enjoying writing poetry and working on my photography. I hope you get to enjoy the fruit of this new path in my journey.