Live at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival

Release Date 10/23/08

A live recording of Eartha's show at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Available on CD and also available as a DVD*.

1. I'm Still Here
2. Speaking of Love
3. Come On-A- My House
4. Anything But Love
5. Medley: What Is This Thing Called Love?
    How Insensitive
    All My Life
6. Uska Dara
7. Medley: Guess Who I Saw Today
    Could I Leave You?
8. I Will Survive
9. Too Young To Be Meant For Me
10. I Want To Be Evil
11. Ain't Misbehavin'
12. Just An Old Fashioned Girl
13. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
14. La Vie En Rose
15. Medley: If You Go Away
      Hymn To Love
16. C'Est Si Bon
17. Medley: September Song
      It Was A Very Good Year
      Here's To Life
18. Alone

(10/23/2008)
Network
UK

SN6525

Here is What NETWORK has to say about the CD & DVD releases:

“The most exciting woman in the world,” Orson Welles on Eartha Kitt, 1950.

It is with great pleasure that Network announce the releases of EARTHA KITT – LIVE AT THE CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL on DVD on 27 th October 2008, RRP £19.99 and CD, RRP £12.99. This is, unbelievably, Eartha Kitt’s first ever live concert DVD. These releases are recordings of her sell-out opening concert at the world renowned Cheltenham Jazz Festival in 2008.

With a career that started in the late forties and which is still going strong 65 years later, it would not be an exaggeration to call Eartha Kitt a living legend. Her electrifying and unforgettable concerts are always complete sell-out affairs. She is versatile and multi-talented; she is at once a star of the movies, television, the stage and a wondrous singer/performer in both jazz and cabaret.

Kitt got her start as a member of the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe. On a friend’s dare, the shy, teenage Kitt auditioned for the prestigious company and won a spot as a featured dancer and vocalist. She made her film debut in Casbah (1948). Her work ranges from her part as Catwoman in the late 1960s Batman television series, doing the voice for YZMA, the villain in Disney’s animated feature The Emperor’s New Groove, to Orson Welles’s production of Dr. Faust. Her stage career is just as exciting and inspirational. She was booked at The Village Vanguard in New York. Her beauty, unforgettable voice and her electrifying presence very quickly attracted the attention of a Broadway producer, who put her in New Faces of 1952. It was here that she firmly asserted herself as a star of Broadway. Eartha Kitt sings in ten different languages; she has performed in over one hundred countries and was honoured with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

These releases are from her performance earlier this year when she headlined the prestigious Cheltenham Jazz Festival. This thrilling performance can be enjoyed by Kitt fans, as well as anyone with a passion for Jazz.

DVD Special Features:

  • ALONE (An autobiographical reflection in song written by Eartha Kitt and her musical director Daryl Waters).
  • EARTHA KITT IN CONVERSATION.


*A personal note on this CD/DVD release. Please note this is listed as a PAL Region 2 DVD everywhere online, however, the disc I received is actually region free so it should play on most computers and DVD players.

I have not yet received my CD but I got the DVD on release date. First of all, although I love many of Eartha’s studio albums, there is something about her concerts, an energy that is pure Eartha. The recordings don't capture all that energy, but some have come close and are a reminder for those of us fortunate to have seen her shows live. That being said I can't imagine anyone doing a better job of capturing the energy and excitement of seeing Eartha live. The CD and DVD can be ordered directly from www.networkdvd.net or try this direct link to the CD & DVD listing.

There are 2 tracks that I am thrilled to see listed. The first is Speaking of Love which I have seen Eartha perfom live many times, but which has never been recorded by her, until now. It was written by Yip Harburg with - additional music & lyrics Daryl Waters. As Barbara Cook said, “No-one played around with words quite like Yip did!” With lines like “…you want my love today, what does your broker say, Speaking of Love…”

The other track that is of note is Alone, which was written by Eartha and Daryl Waters and is our first glimpse of a long rumored stage show about the life of “The Most Exciting Woman in the World.”

Also appearing is Eartha's version of September Song / It Was A Very Good Year / Here's To Life. It is a classic Eartha rendition not to be missed. It is interesting to hear the story told by a woman instead of a man, and the differences the change of gender can make in the song. I hope the DVD release has captured the twinkle in her eye when she sings "When I was 35, it was a very good year. A very good year for younger men, who looked good in jeans. We would drive around in Limousines, my chauffeur would drive..." Now if we could only get her to record Voice Full of Yes.

To Network thanks for recording what may be the "greatest concert recording on earth(a) and to Miss Kitt, in the words you often close your show with, "Here's to life, here's to love, and here's to you!"

Frank Biafore III
Eartha Kitt Fan Club