The New York Times raved: “Legere plays the piano with enormous authority in a style that encompasses Chopin, blues, ragtime, bebop and beyond, and she brings to her vocal delivery a four octave range, and an extraordinary palette of tonal color and meticulous phrasing.”
This “multi-keyboard, vocal wizard” (CBS) has been compared to “Beethoven” (Paper Magazine) “Edith Piaf” (Stephen Holden, NY Times), “Frank Zappa” (Billboard) “Dorothy Donegan” (John Wilson,NY Times) “Dorothy Parker” (Ruddy Cheeks, The Phoenix) “Jerry Lee Lewis” (Proctor.Lippincott, NY Times) and “Bobby Short” (LIz Smith, NY Daily News). Washington Post called Phoebe Legere “Mick Jagger with an accordion.” and Timeout called her “the Sexiest Accordionist on the Planet.”
"Perfections name is Phoebe." -NY Post
As a teenager Legere was signed Epic Records as a songwriter. She opened for David Bowie on his National Tour in 1991. She led highly influential downtown bands, from Monad to 4 Nurses of the Apocalypse to her nine piece swing-punk outfit Swingalicious. After the spectacular college radio success of “Marilyn Monroe” (Island Records), and her appearance in numerous underground films Legere turned her attention to avant-garde classical music. She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her work with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Legere has had six of her original plays with music produced in New York City. She has two upcoming commissions: Theater for the New City (2017) and Dixon Place (2018)
Ms. Legere studied jazz with John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Phoebe graduated from Vassar College, studied composition at the Juilliard School, studied piano at the New England Conservatory, and film scoring, orchestration and jazz arranging at the NYU Graduate School of Music Composition. She studied composition with John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Morton Subotnick, Wayne Oquin and Dinu Gezzo. She also studied jazz arranging with Ira Newborn and Rick Shemaria.
This highly regarded “musicians musician” has said that the death of the record business is a much needed correction. “Right now musicians have a golden opportunity. For the first time in half a century we can shape our own careers. More importantly, musicians are no longer the slaves of music corporations. We are free to invent the music we hear in our hearts today, and invent new ways to deliver it to the listeners of tomorrow.”
