With SIGNS OF LIFE (Motéma Music), Rondi Charleston has captured the hearts of fans nationwide. The album has quickly become one of this year’s most talked about new jazz releases, hailed as Charleston’s greatest body of work to date. Following successful shows in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Charleston continues to build her national fan base as she debuts at San Francisco’s premiere jazz club, Yoshi’s on Sunday, August 11th, followed by Portland’s Ivories on Tuesday, August 13th. Both national and local media are supporting these events, as Entertainment Tonight airs an online Denny Directo feature on Rondi, Friday, August 9th, succeeded by a live San Francisco NBC/KRON-TV interview with Jan Wahl on Wednesday, August 10th. Chicago’s top ABC morning show, Windy City Live, also aired an in-studio interview and live performance showcasing the CD’s centerpiece and standout original single, “DNA.” Here Charleston explores her deep connection to her Scandinavian roots and the commonalities that unite us all through our shared DNA. Says Rondi, “understanding my DNA allowed me to fully access my creative process and that thirst we all have to understand who we are and why.”
The CD dominated the Jazz Week radio chart as the #6 most added in its first week with an unprecedented 10-week chart run peaking at #25. Nationally syndicated Public Radio’s Art of The Song Creativity Radio, praised Charleston saying, “Rondi Charleston brings art to life. Her songwriting and interpretations illuminate the power of music and story.” The radio show, broadcast on hundreds of NPR affiliates nationwide, aired Charleston’s interview for a full week in April.
Charleston is also participating in the rollout of the award winning Magnolia Feature Film Documentary, No Place On Earth, which features her original track, “The Cave Knows,” co-written by Charleston and Grammy nominated pianist/composer, Fred Hersch, also included as a bonus track on Charleston’s SIGNS OF LIFE. Vanity Fair dubbed Hersch, “the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade.” The recording, created for this award-winning documentary film, tells the riveting true story of 38 Ukrainian Jews who survived World War II by living in underground caves for 18 months. The film premiered and won the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival Award. “The Cave Knows,” a haunting song reflecting the determination, struggle, and triumph of these heroic survivors, takes the listener from tears of sorrow to cheers of joy and can be heard under the film’s final credit roll. In her hometown of Chicago, Charleston had the honor of performing the song in the presence of the survivors at the debut screening of the film held at The Illinois Holocaust Museum at Skokie.
SIGNS OF LIFE is in stores now and has sold through several online nationwide Amazon promotions. For more information and reservations for upcoming shows and the most up to date information on Rondi Charleston, please visit www.rondicharleston.com.