Tellinger & Fresk - As Long As You're Living (2019)

Tellinger & Fresk is a meeting of the minds between South African treasure, Barbora Tellinger, a prolific songbird whose pure tone and effortless vocal style have been thrilling audiences for decades, and American jazz pianist and Grammy nominee John Fresk.

They perform music ranging from jazz standards of the Great American Song Book, alongside many original compositions in that similar style. They also enjoy turning non-jazz material around so that you could easily find yourself swinging to the Foo Fighters or Led Zeppelin, or swooning over a jazz ballad by Carol King or James Taylor.

Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Gershwin, Victor Young, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Hoagy Carmichael, Monk … just some of the composers favoured by Tellinger & Fresk.

For more than 25 years Barbora Tellinger has been a professional singer, composer, teacher, voice artist and actress throughout Southern Africa, on stages and in studios, in musicals, cabaret, pop, rock and jazz bands. She has performed on stages from Cape Town to Prague, at the Reduta, the Imperial, the Agharta, the Joburg Theatre, the South African State Theatre, Ellis Park Stadium, the Sun City Superbowl, and then some.

Classically trained, but with popular, jazz and rock experience and sensibilities, American pianist John Fresk’s career spans at least 30 years of professional performance in all aspects. In the U.S he worked with Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, to name two, and regularly does arrangements for major American jazz musicians such as Patrick Lamb. In South Africa, he has worked as an arranger, musical director and pianist for major corporate events, classical soirees, the Joburg Big Band, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and dozens of solo artists and ensembles. He has been the pianist for the TV show Strictly Come Dancing and has accompanied Ronan Keating at the Sun City Superbowl.

Tellinger & Fresk have performed as a duo, quartet, and with big swing bands. Their recent move to Prague perfectly places them to expand their reach and to indulge a wider audience throughout Europe.