November 8, 2005

photo by Alan Cumming

Hello,

I want to thank everyone who pre-ordered their copies of "Retrospective" from the site, we sold out of our stock of special edition packages just before the release date and it has proved impossible to get more copies. If you have an interest in having a copy, you should find one quick from another source, the company is not likely to press more of the same. I've been receiving such a great response to the unreleased track, "She Devil" and the other rarities that were included. I'm so happy that you have been enjoying the collection. It was a great pleasure to assemble it.

October was an interesting month. I made a few appearances under the radar that I felt were worth mentioning. Upon returning home from Spain and I went directly to Washington, DC for the National Italian American Foundation's annual gala. Several months ago I received an invitation from Sophia Loren to the event and decided it was not something to ignore and sent an RSVP promptly. It was a unique weekend.

Although I do not have a typical Italian name (my paternal grandfather arrived at Ellis Island in 1907 with the surname Mercante which was promptly anglicized to the direct translation Merchant) my Mediterranean roots were detected by someone on the invitation committee. It was a wild experience to be completely surrounded by Italians and Italian Americans for a full weekend in a hotel in downtown D.C.

Day one began with cocktails at the Italian Embassy, dinner in a posh Italian restaurant seated with a career diplomat from Rome and an 80-year-old jewelry designer from Milan wearing at least $100K in diamonds and red coral around her wrists and neck (not to mention the sable stole). The next night I sat at the head table with the arch-bishop of Washington, the four-star Marine general who captured Saddam Hussein, the actor Danny Aiello ("The Godfather", "Once Upon a Time in America", "Moonstruck" & "Do the Right Stuff"), Yogi Berra, Tommy Sorda, Connie Stevens (aka Concetta Rosalie Ingolia) and many more. Tony Danza was the MC for the night and he was extremely funny. When he met me he said, "Natalie, what are you doing here, your name ends with a consonant?"

The next week I was in New York to speak on a discussion panel at Carnegie Hall about "Technology and the Music Industry" with Lou Reed, RZA (of the Wu Tang Clan) and a classically trained violinist named Leila Josefowitz. I was very impressed by the insights of the other artists, we all seem to inhabit distant corners of the same profession and listening to a classical musician and a rap artist talk about the experience of writing, recording and performing was very interesting. Lou Reed was hysterically irreverent. His first comment was something like this, "Well, you have to realize that all record company executives are crooks and liars..."

photo by Alan Cumming

I was invited to perform for the Princess Grace Awards gala for the royal family of Monaco and 600 New York society mavens. The organization was founded by the children of the late Princess Grace and it awards grants to young artists, film makers, playwrights, set designers and dancers. The grants are awarded during the annual gala and established artists are honored, as well. The order of performers and presenters was Liza Minelli, Mikhail Baryshinikov, Larry King, His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco and then me (panic stricken) at the piano for four songs. It was a brief high-pressure performance. I was seated for dinner with Eddie Falco, Diane Sawyer and Alan Cummings (who took the photographs in this letter).

There’s another show coming up on December 3rd at the new performing arts center at Bard College. I'll be performing (hopefully collaborating) with the legendary musical giants Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Sonny Rollins. It will be a benefit for the families displaced by the hurricane in Louisiana. We are planning to add quite a bit of new content to the site before the year's end (a new interview, work in progress, poetry and a special feature) so check in from time to time.

Until Later,
Natalie