Who are Divas Express?
JONI MAXX
(left) has distinguished herself as one of the Bay Area’s most in-demand jazz and R & B vocalists for the past 25 years, performing in top-tier venues such as The Plush Room, The Fillmore, The Great American Music Hall, The Mark Hopkins, The Claremont Hotel, Rasselas, The Tonga Room, The Fairmont Hotel and Hornblower Dining Yachts.
She has appeared with Bobby McFerrin, Mary Wilson, Maria Muldaur, Holly Near, Jon Hendricks, Tom Scott, Linda Tillery, and others, as well as being a featured performer and vocalist with Dick Bright’s SRO, one of the Bay Area’s top party bands. Her simultaneously passionate and subtle renditions of classic jazz standards, pop, R & B, Top 40 and Latin consistently make for an unforgettable evening. Combine her years of experience as a vocalist/entertainer with her years of experience as a professional DJ and host, and the right song for the right moment is always in the house.
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Divas Express, New Year's Eve 2008 at Joe LoCoco's
VALENTINA
(right) is a multi faceted singer/ performer who is at much at home behind a DJ booth as fronting a dance band or singing an aria on the opera stage. A compelling and electric performer, Valentina's "golden mezzo" (San Francisco Examiner) is known throughout the industry as extremely versatile, beautiful, and expressive. Aside from her session work as a studio singer for numerous film, television, and commercial CD releases, as a
classical soloist. Valentina performs throughout the U.S., having made her debuts with New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, San Francisco Symphony, Midsummer Mozart, Eugene Opera, Opera San Jose, Berkeley Opera, and The Yerba Buena Center, among others. Valentina's signature is that of bringing riveting expression and dynamic richness to the realm of classical singing.
As a pop and rock singer / songwriter, Valentina's versatile vocal stylings and powerful performance presence have led her to share the stage with Todd Rundgren, George Benson, John Cale of The Velvet Underground, Dana Carvey, and Helen Hunt. She has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MTV, the Fillmore Auditorium, the Shoreline Ampitheater, Villa Montalvo, New Orleans' Contemporary Arts Center, and the Palace of Fine Arts, among others. As a studio session recording artist, Valentina has contributed to recordings by Royal Fingerbowl, Sky Cafe, Smokey Pete's Cafe, and Andrei Codrescu's and The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars' 2008 national release of jealous witness. Her distinctive voice has been heard on numerous television and radio theme songs, including travelogues from Time/Life/Warner and syndicated shows such as Garfield. An original founding member of San Francisco's acclaimed Screaming Divas, Valentina also currently performs with Her Rebel Highness popera group and Mirabai jazz ensemble. She has hosted parties for corporate clients and private events as diverse as Hornblower
Dining Yachts to Live 105 Radio to Sun Microsystems.
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Divas Express at Teatro Zinzanni, April 2008
