Madeline Tasquin - French Bistro & Jazz

With over 5 hours of solo material, I can curate a songlist to support your event's vision.

FRENCH MUSIC... Repertoire includes Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Charles Aznavour, Francoise Hardy, Pink Martini, Yves Montand, and many more.

COVER SONGS... Repertoire includes songs by Radiohead, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, Björk, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Cat Stevens, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac and many more.

NEWER POP TUNES... I know selected songs from Adele, Jason Mraz, The Weekend, Justin Bieber, 21 Pilots... but I've learned these songs from specific requests, which I'm happy to do. Just to let you know that my post-2000 pop song repertoire is limited, so if you have a few specific songs in mind, I'm your gal. But if you're hoping for multiple hours of newer/mainstream stuff, you can probably find a better match than moi. Again, happy to learn any tunes you have in mind.

ORIGINAL MUSIC... my songs are a mix of jazz, french and pop influences, and pair well with red wine.

LOOPING... I don't call myself a looping artist, but I do use a loop pedal sparsely to add harmonies on my own voice and lay down simple rhythm tracks. This helps to thicken the sound and make it sound like there might be a few of us up there. Great for background music situations where there will be a lot of talking or for large spaces needing a little extra oomph.

(link hidden) ... A vocal trio, led by yours truly. We play a baker's dozen of cover songs include a doo-wop version of "Too Good" by Drake, the romantic and milky "La Javanaise" by Serge Gainsbourg, and an a'capella (voices only) version of "Dear Someone" by Gillian Welch, arranged by Red Molly. The bulk of our repertoire is made up of my songs – jazz-influenced folksy pop songs, sung in full soulful harmony by 3 deliciously blended voices, with Shiloh Parkerson also on flute and Hannah Levy adding some percussion and bass where needed. Perfect for living room concerts, music-focussed events, wedding ceremonies and cocktail hours.

JAZZ DUO / TRIO: I have a wealth of wonderful musicmaking friends here also trying to hit middle class musician status whilst living in the Bay Area (!) and it's always lovely when we can get together to rehearse some music and then joyfully perform it at your event AND help pay the rent. If you have a larger budget, consider flying a duo or trio formation // This would be myself singing and playing guitar and ukulele, accompanied by a soloist (violin, accordion, 2nd guitar...), and for trios an upright bass player. (want a drummer, too? ask for "Full Band")

GROUP WORKSHOPS... Consider a "Ukulele Love-in" or "Pop-up Choir" workshop, led by yours truly. Please ask me for more details on either of these offerings :-)

BUG FAMILY BAND... I'm part of a Bay Area-based band that plays music "for kids of all ages." We can fly in duo, trio or full band formation, and are available for hire at schools, birthdays and other family events. "Part Beatles, part jitterbug, 100% BUG FAMILY." Bug Family Band's 2nd full-length album "A Bee C D" won a Parents Choice award, and the group has played multiple times at High Sierra Music Festival's family stage, La Peña Cultural Centre, The Freight & Salvage, and Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center in Berkeley, and Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley.

Hello! First off let me thank you on behalf of musiciankind for considering hiring a live musician for your event. Live music has a special magic and the fact that you realize that makes you pretty cool in my books already.

I've been an active solopreneur musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & bandleader since I left my former career as a designer in the architecture & sustainability field in 2006. Since then I've had the honour of traveling to many of these United States, several provinces of my home country of Canada, three solo tours through Western Europe, and even to the paradise of the Maldives for an extended resort gig that spoiled me completely for quite some time! 😆

I've also had the honour of playing with and learning-by-osmosis from hundreds of musicians over the years, from Oakland's Fantastic Negrito and Montreal's Bernard Adamus to lesser known but equally badass artists like Kendra McKinley, Renee Asteria and children's musical act The Bug Family Band. Since the pandemic began and slowed live music's roll, I spent several years as the Christine McVie in Fleetwood Macrame, and am now one of seven members of a jazz-rock-psychedelic fusion band led by composer Bill Wolter, called Inner Ear Brigade. I also continue to perform at house concerts and listening rooms around the Bay Area, either as a solo performer or with my vocal trio "Sarabande."

Through the whole journey I've had a persistent love for French music, and I've brought a versatility that I swear is NOT intentional. It's a joy to put my own jazz-adjacent spin on Beatles, Bjork, Radiohead and other well-known artists, learn rare gems like Françoise Hardy's french cover of Leonard Cohen's song "Suzanne" and be able to pepper in my own original compositions... catering to the musical cravings of event organizers and learning new songs keeps my repertoire expanding and my awe of music fresh & evolving.

Beyond the music, I can't help but bring my personality to every event that I play. Sometimes blessing, other times curse, I've always had an innate ability to "read a room." As a musician that means I can't help but "play to the room," responding and adapting musically to shifts in energy, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach to my performances or setlists. I love that every live performance is a unique happening that has never occurred before and will never happen in exactly that same way again.

Thanks for considering hiring me for your event & I look forward to working with you to help your vision come to fruition!

Please provide:
A grounded 3-prong electrical outlet within 6 feet of the performance area.
A stable, level performance area, and if possible, away from entrances, exits and pathways.
If the event is outdoors, please ensure the performance area is fully shaded from direct sunlight or potential rain. Exceptions may be made according to the specific type of event or booking (ie. surprise wedding proposal on the beach...)

I'll bring:
All required musical & amplification equipment.
Aux cable to allow me to play music (from my device or yours) during my set breaks.

Breaks:
For multiple hour bookings, I'll need to take a quick 5-10minute break for every 45-50 minutes of playing time. This is flexible and exceptions can of course be made, depending on the events flow and timing. This break gives me a moment to drink water, eat snacks, and stretch and relax the arms so I can keep playing til my dying day ;) Thanks for understanding. During these breaks, I can either have a playlist prepared on my phone, or you can provide a device with an 1/8" auxiliary jack. I'll provide the aux cable.