Christine Salerno & ZIJI “711” Here is some information about my CD. It began with a couple of tracks in Tamarac, Florida, traveled to Boulder, CO, and then finished up in Green Bay at "Made Ya Look" studio. It's a CD of mostly originals, with many family dedications. I co-wrote 2 of the songs with former ZIJI member, John Croarkin (he recently moved to Olympia, WA). One song, "Broken Heart" was written by my father, musician Harley Paquin (1935-83). I found it in a box a couple of years ago & I'd never seen it before. Ricardo Vogt wrote an arrangement of this for me. My cousin, Scott Paquin, who has written some lyrics for some of my songs came up from North Carolina and recorded it as a duo with me. I also re-worked a song that my mother-in-law, Angie Salerno, wrote when she was in her 20s (she's 93!). The rest of the material was written by me. I have songs dedicated to my husband, John- "Stars That Shine" (711). The title of the CD is 711 - some very lucky numbers for the Salernos (and also our address), a song for my son, Frankie, "You Are Here" that I wrote shortly after he was born, a song for my son, Antonio, "Diddles" which used to be his nickname, a song for my mom, Jeanie Paquin, called "Crooked Lake" which is where I grew up near Kalamazoo, MI. Ricardo Vogt wrote some Portuguese lyrics for this (Lago Do Coracao) which I incorporated into the recording. I also have a song dedicated to my late cousin, Kathy Mason-Hodges, a wonderful pianist who died in 1998 from breast cancer called "Kathy De S'Antonio". Guests on the CD include piano/harmonica virtuoso, Howard Levy, guitarist/composer, Chuck Loeb, flute & sax- Nelson Rangell who you may remember from Jazz Fest awhile back. Gospel singer, Ken Daniel, from Milwaukee sings with me on "You Are Here"- Frankie's song. Former GB Packer running back, Gerry Ellis, sings with me on "Stars That Shine" (711)- (he has an AWESOME voice!) Other musicians are my band, ZIJI - Danny Lueck on drums, John Gibson on bass, John Croarkin on flute. Mark Plopper (Lamar) on guitar from Made Ya Look, Ricardo Vogt-(guitarist for Esperanza Spalding & Eliane Elias) guitar & vocals, Leala Cyr-Vogt-(vocalist for Esperanza Spalding) vocals, Jennifer Scovell-Parker (former UW green Bay music major who now teaches music at McNally-Smith in St. Paul, MN)- vocals, Kip Kuepper on vocals, Barbara Reeves-Kuepper on vocals, Stefan Hall from UWGB on guitar (his wife, prof Sarah Detweiler from the UWGB art dept. was the photographer & art advisor for the CD), Dane Richeson from Lawrence Univ on percussion, Adam Gaines- trumpet professor from UWGB, Woody Mankowski - vocals on "Diddles" for Antonio, WHEW!! Also, the project started with Jean (John) Bolduc on drums & Paul Shewchuk on bass in Tamarac, FL. Jean Bolduc was instrumental in my previous two CDs, "A New Kind of High" with Open Interest, and "Blumen". He played drums & percussion, and co-produced those CDs. My CD cover is the artwork of Green Bay artist, Terry Stanley. ZIJI was playing at Whitney Park in July, and that evening, Terry drew a pastel of the band (Me, John Salerno, John Gibson, and Danny Lueck; our new guitarist, Kelvin Kaspar was unable to make the gig). I ran into Jeff Mirkes of Downtown GB, inc. and he told me that he purchased the art from Terry & had it in his office. I asked if I could use it for my CD cover- and that's how visual art & music came together!!! I'm so thrilled to have the artwork. UW Green Bay art student, Jason Houge, did the layout for the CD. Christine Salerno- Piano/Vocals/Writer/Arranger Christine Salerno grew up in a musical family. She became interested in jazz music at an early age, learning from her father, Harley Paquin and his brother, Jerry. There were numerous jam sessions in the living room, and Christine frequently joined in. After studying at Western Michigan University with Steve Zegree and Trent Kynaston, Christine attended the University of Northern Colorado where she studied with David Hanson on piano, and became a part of the Denver jazz scene, performing on piano and vocals. She graduated in 1983, receiving her Master of Music Degree with an emphasis in Jazz Studies. After living in south Florida and recording her first CD, “A New Kind Of High”, with her husband, John Salerno, the two relocated to the Green Bay, WI area to develop the Jazz Studies program at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. She has been the vocal jazz director at UWGB since 1992. Shortly after moving to Wisconsin, Christine formed the Brazilian and Contemporary Jazz Group, “ZIJI”, with saxophonist/composer, John Croarkin. They recorded a CD of Christine’s original tunes entitled, “Blumen”, and recently completed the CD “711”. Christine has a busy performance schedule, performing with ZIJI at festivals, as a duo with bassist, John Gibson, and also with vocalist/saxophonist Woody Mankowski. Christine has performed and/or recorded with Howard Levy, Chuck Loeb, Nelson Rangell, Eliane Elias, Kurt Elling, Billy Drews, Kip Kuepper, and others. She is a composer for Narrator Tracks of Wisconsin and mother to Frankie and Antonio.