Janet Planet: The Music of Johnny Mandel

American singing star Janet Planet makes her UK debut at Crazy Coqs performing the evocative and sensual music of the great songwriter Johnny Mandel.

An American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz, Johnny Mandel worked with Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O’Day, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. He won five Grammy Awards.

Tonight sit back and enjoy many of his greatest songs, including “A Time For Love”, “Close Enough For Love”, “Little Did I Dream”, “Low Life”, “Theme From M*A*S*H”, “The Shadow Of Your Smile”, “Where Do You Start”, and many more.

Janet Planet, described by Jazziz Magazine as “The voice of the new jazz culture with seemingly limitless expression” has established herself with a career spanning 40 years.

In 1995 she started her own independent jazz label “Stellar Records”and has 24 albums in her name

In 2017, “Janet Planet – Just Like a Woman – The Music of Bob Dylan, Vol. 2” was shortlisted for a Grammy and a year later , “John Harmon and Janet Planet Da Capo” were similarly nominated and in 2021 she enjoyed a third nomination for “Under the Venus Moon”.

The music of Johnny Mandel is Janet’s most recent project. She is no stranger to the beauty and well-crafted lyric and melodies of his writing having performed and recorded of few of the gems, she feels at “home” with this music.

Performing tonight on saxophones is Janet’s partner Tom Washatka. He is a multi-talented instrumentalist/composer/arranger. A recording artist since 1979, Tom has arranged, performed on, or recorded/mixed/mastered over 41 albums

Joining Janet and Tom to complete the quartet, are two U.K. jazz greats: the sensitive voicing of Rob Barron- piano and the lyrical Jeremy Brown – Double bass.

“When it comes to understanding a lyric and the music behind it, Janet Planet gets it. Her soulful, heartfelt readings, with perfectly in tune, pure voice brings the music to us on a silver platter, and really hits home”. – Gene Bertoncini

“ Tom Washatka plays with the enthusiasm of the hard bop masters” – Cadence Magazine