Julian Fleisher

"A New York nightclub supernova" declares the LA Times. "The Human iPod" says The Baltimore Sun. "Smart, genre-busting pop" reads The New York Times Magazine, and with good reason. "I'd say that I'm Jazz-dominant, Pop-submissive and even Rock-and-Roll-curious. So you do the math. I sing what I like." And if what the The York Post described as "his highly enthusiastic, standing-room only crowd of blissful twenty-somethings" is any measure, then the numbers are indeed adding up.

Anticipating the revolutionary genius of the iPod and the iPod Shuffle by years, Fleisher's shows have always eschewed the the dull constraints of old-fashioned categories in favor of a free-wheeling, eclectic, post-modern approach to entertainment. "Not only do audiences not care if you stick to one style or another, they actually prefer it when you hop around--provided, of course, that you do it well." His philosophy: If it swings, it sings. "Great songs aren't museum pieces. The standard songbook is still being written right now. Like most people my age, I don't get too precious with it. After all, my heroes are Ella, Joni and Prince. They're all a part of the same history in my book. So in my shows, they all get the same treatment."

Son of world-renowned concert pianist Leon Fleisher, Julian was first heard as a boy soprano, a student of the classical repertoire at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of music in his hometown of Baltimore. After a four year stint as an undergraduate at Yale --where he sang in concerts, and on stage in roles ranging from The Threepenny Opera's Mack the Knife to Guys and Doll's Sky Masterson -- Julian took on New York, the inevitable next step in any young entertainer's journey. Now, he's enjoying a reputation as one of that city's most exciting young nightclub stars.

His love of the best of American song coupled with a fresh and irreverent performance style have garnered him rave reviews and comparisons to predecessors as diverse as Sammy Davis, Jr., Norah Jones and Lenny Bruce. It's no surprise that he enjoys a loyal audience of both young and old alike. From Paris to Berlin, from New York to Los Angeles, from intimate boites to the grooviest supper clubs, he's been dazzling listeners and inspiring an ever growing cadre of devoted followers.

His collaborations with a growing roster of celebrities-turned-singers now has him on a new trajectory: Host Extraordinaire. Molly Ringwald, Isaac Mizrahi, Ana Gasteyer, Martha Plimpton, Lauren Graham, Jennifer Holliday, Keith Carradine, Kiki & Herb: just some of the special guests who, in just the last year, have joined Julian for a spin around the songbook. Whether negotiating the twists and turns of a ditty by Mingus, doubling his horns on a barn-burning rendition of a classic by Arlen, swinging through and unlikely rendition of a contemporary classic by Buffalo Springfield, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Gaynor or Pink -- or just riffing away on one his own crowd-pleasing tunes -- Fleisher and friends prove that his near four-octave vocal range is matched only by the span of his stylistic capabilities.

Furthermore, the weekly showcase Julian Fleisher Presents: Monday Music Starlight which he both hosts and curates was sighted by the New York Times and the New Yorker as one of only three venues in NYC where one is most likely to hear the new Norah Joneses.

As an actor, he starred in the new musical American Mouth (in which he didn't sing!), he recently appeared on CBS's Without A Trace and he can be seen in recent films by directors George Hickenlooper and Maria Maggenti. As a recording artist and producer, Julian is becoming equally as accomplished and wide-ranging. Both he and his original songs have been seen and heard on TV and in films, including Dogtown, Temps and The Man From Elysian Fields starring Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger, for which he wrote, produced and performed the songs. He composed, performed and produced all the songs for Off-Broadway's Almost Maine, by Tony Award nominee John Cariani and he produced both full-length CDs from the legendary downtown duo Kiki & Herb, which include appearances by, among others, Debby Harry, The Scissor Sisters, Rufus Wainwright and Alex Gifford of the Propellerheads.

His own debut CD, Rather Big (Modern Records), was described by Billboard as "a potpourri of sweetly memorable material...exemplary, sterling and delightful". As his star continues its rise, Julian continues to mix a magic concoction swinging songs, downtown vibe and groovy savior-faire for which he and his music are becoming world-renowned.