Born on Long Island, New York, Kristen Evelyn Rossi spent time living the expat life in Bangkok, Thailand, where she was an active member of the performing arts scene. She has appeared in numerous stage performances, in Thai and international films, on television and commercial sets and even behind the doors of many voice-over studios. She also did a four-month stint as the jazz ‘diva’ at the landmark Sofitel Metropole Hanoi.
Kristen was previously interviewed in the Nov/Dec 2014 issue of Global Living Magazine. We’re pleased to share Kristen’s latest news from abroad with our readers:
Kristen Evelyn Rossi: LIVE in Hong Kong
It has been a year since Kristen Evelyn Rossi, Bangkok’s Broadway Babe left Thailand.
Fortunately, she continues to spread her passion of Broadway and the golden age of jazz through Asia, from Hanoi to Macau to Hong Kong she has had a busy year leaving behind her a trail of classic, lighthearted song.
Her latest show in Hong Kong and on the brink of Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday she performed a series of songs and stories about the iconic crooner and she has shared with us her own ‘relationship’ with Sinatra as well.
I can see a picture of a young boy with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, hat tipped, leg bent supporting his weight as he leans against a street pole. No, this is not a photo of Gene Kelly or Frank Sinatra, it is of my grandfather. Born in the upper east side of Manhattan to Irish immigrants, William Buttner was a bi-product of the mass European migration that occurred in the late 1800s.
A young American my grandfather was also part of the generation that grew up listening to the likes of the suave, dapper crooners Dean Martin and Sinatra. These singers were my grandparents “Top 40″ artists, they were his Katy Perry and Avicii. As as a result I grew up surrounded by ‘old blue eyes'” music and it has become so ingrained that I did not realize it until I actually became a singer myself.
A prime example was last week at our weekly rehearsal. The band and I were rehearsing a new song in the afternoon but having a problem with the arrangement. To our ‘luck’ the general manager walked in! After a few minutes of continuing to struggle I stopped, turned to the general manager standing quietly behind me and asked,
“What can we sing for you?”.
“How about that one… ‘I get a kick’?” he answered.
“I get a kick out of you”, a Sinatra classic I had never performed before but I opened the chart, we found my key and somehow the lyrics and feel came to me. This is true for most of Sinatra’s tunes, years of being surrounded by his music at family weddings, summer barbecues, in my grandpa’s car, there is little preparation needed, the words and melodies just flow out of my mouth.
Happy Birthday Frank! To celebrate Sinatra’s 100th as well as Kristen’s year touring Asia, spreading the golden age of jazz, she is releasing her EP.
Kristen Evelyn Rossi: LIVE in Hong Kong officially out on ITunes and Amazon (www,amzn.to/1Pw9zCS) December 10th. To kick off the release you can download one of her jazz/Arabian tracks “A Very Good Year” for FREE: www.bit.ly/1QSaUE3
For more information, visit: www.kristenevelynrossi.com
