Available for Shows with Band
“Daring, dexterous singer/songwriter/poet...appeal[s] to both traditional and contemporary jazz tastes and even hip-hop hipsters.”
—Philadelphia Daily News
“Singer, spoken-word artist and poet with an incisive way of chronicling situations, memories, and emotions… a pliable, expressive voice dipped in blue.”
—Jazz Times
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On '60s MAGIC NOW!: THE Y-VERSE
"The project reimagines a group of 1960s songs through soul-jazz, funk, Latin grooves, hip-hop, rock, folk, and spoken word. Its source material is recognizable, but Lisa’s method is personal and analytical....old song[s] become a space for new voices to listen, respond, and imagine their way forward." —Aaron Willschick, V13.Net
"The songs…carry political urgency while retaining humor, sensuality, movement, and surprise… familiar enough to invite listeners inside, altered enough to make them reconsider what they thought the song was asking." —The Real Ding.com
"Lisa’s vocal delivery brings a soulful, conversational quality…an extension of the performance instincts she first discovered at poetry readings, where timing…and presence taught her how to hold an audience. Those skills matter on a record built around interpretation." —Kath Galasso, Onstage Magazine.com
"Lisa approaches [the songs]… as living material rather than historical artifacts…For Lisa B, that act of imagination is where political and personal change begin." —Flex Music Blog.com
On I GET A KICK: COLE PORTER REIMAGINED
“Bernstein reinterprets the Porter Songbook… to magnify the American Treasure that is these songs...shows an acute attention to rhythm, tempo, and time... total command of the material.” —C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
“With the freewheeling control of the raw materials that only the finest jazz practitioners possess, B takes possession of Cole Porter's witty, poignant stories... a true American original.” —Downbeat critic Ted Panken in his liner notes
“B brings her poet’s incisive ear to uncover the roiling emotions beneath Porter’s glittering confections.” —Andrew Gilbert, Berkeleyside
"Modernize[s] the classic songs without… losing their essences… rewarding and intriguing.” —Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
Available for Poetry Readings & Workshops
“From its provocative title to the last sentence, this…heretical book surprises, devastates, and delights.“ —Calyx
“An invitation to experience God as ‘the one I know.’…The physical body is embraced as a place of knowing and mystery, illness, sex, and healing.“ —Harbor Review
“A playful, soulful, feminist imagining of how we experience the sacred.” —Broad Street Review, Best of 2023
“I am charmed and touched...simultaneously whimsical and serious.” —Jazz Lives
“Lisa B’s stunning new book weaves together body, spirituality, politics, and the world we live in…will stir your mind and bring you into beauty.” —Kelli Russell Agodon
“Bears écriture feminine into the twenty-first century with grace, wit, and incredible technical dexterity.” —Kristina Marie Darling
“A book of deep seeing…also a book of intense listening... a series of divine pleasures.” —D.A. Powell
“A dazzling lyrical demonstration... from the highs of great jazz performance to the zen of blood testing for diabetes.” —Lawrence R. Smith
Selected Presenter & Fan Quotes
“She totally captivated the audience. She is an originator, her arrangements are mesmerizing, and her band is great!”
—Gary Hamada, Jazz and Blues Company/KRML-FM, Concert Manager
“Obviously you’re a gigantic talent…you totally controlled the room.”
—Robin Reichert, owner, Paradise Lounge, San Francisco
“You know as a poet and as a singer that you were being heard... from the silence between phrases. I was surprised by many things. First by the quality and range of your voice. When you want to you get a terrific blues quality. The people playing behind you are so good. I especially enjoyed 'Center of the Rhyme' and the Joe Williams song.”
—Philip Levine, former Poet Laureate of the United States
“That was a wonderful show last night. My friend and I had a great time. You were marvelous – charming, funny, astute, original. Your band was exquisite, each and every one of them. Your comfort on the stage and with the band felt assured.”
—B.N.