For a memoir that is meant to show the freedom she gained by being alone, I don’t understand why it was essentially just a list of every single interaction she’s ever had with a man, most of which are romanticised. Especially frustrating is that there’s no growth in this respect- she decides to be celibate for five years, and then needs her ex-husband to draw her out of her obsession with her new boy toy once she’s ready to date again. Plus there’s a weird focus on sex (seeing the moon while you shower turns you on? Hearing a new song or writing new material makes you rip off your pants? Seriously?) which feels a bit forced and over the top. It made me laugh when she highly recommended being creative without having to worry about paying the bills. I wish. She moaned about not being able to afford to buy a place in London with a garden. Most people can’t even afford to live there period. But I tried to stay with her frame of reference and could see that coming from a huge Californian house would be a huge adjustment and I accepted her invite into her assimilation and transformation, warts and all.

Busy Being Free: A Lifelong Romantic is Seduced by Solitude

The narrative weaves between Emma’s life before, during and after her marriage, and it offers readers an intimate look at the life of an enduring romantic as she navigates leaving London behind for New York, and then sunny California, before returning to London – the city that had ‘shamed her’ to solo parent her young daughter during the pandemic. Barbara Fasano sings with such deeply felt belief in her material that the art she practices is closer to pure expression than interpretation. Her take on 'Photographs,' in which she brings at least three levels to the song at the same time, is worth the price of the CD."— David Hajdu, music critic for The Nation In any case, there are few singer/songwriters that come close to Joni. There are some fine lyricists, but they can't express their emotions and feelings in their voices as Joni could. There are some excellent voices but their lyrics are bland or trite or so terribly obscure that they aren't worth the effort.With this record, Barbara Fasano proves that she is not just a great Italian crooner, an heir to Sinatra for our time, but a jazz singer of the first rank."—David Hajdu, music critic, The New Republic

Busy Being Free by Emma Forrest review — goodbye Hollywood

Hitting themes of heartbreak, romance, celibacy and self-discovery, it's a testament to the power of putting yourself first. -- Alicia Lansom * REFINERY 29 * Especially for women. Especially as we are deemed, with each passing decade, to be of diminishing value. Because someone who is that crazy, someone who takes beyond their fair share with their broken energy, cannot be the one to tell you you no longer exist.” Utterly unique yet totally relatable. A book that made me think about sex and desire in completely different ways and the tender painful brutality of love. A totally intoxicating read, that fascinated me from start to end -- Abi Morgan Jazz writer Will Friedwald calls Fasano, "a charismatic stylist who effectively channels the spirits of the great uber-divas Lena Horne and Barbra Streisand." I'm grateful for these supportive words about my work ... "Barbara Fasano sings with such deeply felt belief in her material that the art she practices is closer to pure expression than interpretation. Her take on 'Photographs', in which she brings at least three levels to the song at the same time, is worth the price of the CD."Barbara Fasano, whose fourth CD BUSY BEING FREE(MAC Award ~MajorRecording of the Year) was released to critical acclaim ("My favorite new vocal album"— Will Friedwald, WSJ) has been hailed as one of the nation’s most stunning and soulful singers. A Resident Artist at New York's legendary Birdland Jazz Club, where she performs Saturday nights, recent highlights include a 2-week Residency in Italy at Monteverdi Tuscany and headlining at the Saratoga Jazz Festival with her trio. For a fun live video clip, GO HERE.In 2022 she headlined for the third time at Music Mountain's Jazz series. For a rather surprising answer to the FAQ "How does a NYC singer prepare for a concert in the mountains?" GO HERE. Other highlights include multiplesold-out engagements at Birdland Theater, London's Pizza Express, & headlining at both Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center.

Barbara Fasano - BIO

For those who've had children in their late teens to early twenties, as parents we usually are concerned when they meet someone and want to settle. Usually saying 'there's lots of fish in the sea' (hate that expression) and 'what's the rush, there is lots of time'. No, don't believe Joni was writing about a sad and lonely person. Rather one who was living, loved over and over again, completely. Even if a fear of a lifelong commitment made her run, because she was so full of passion and love. Each time she met someone else and loved again. We met a variety of men during Busy Being Free – including both her worst sexual experiences, and then, later, some of her best – and despite their frequent appearance, Emma does a wonderful job of making the memoir about so much more than men.

A beautiful, unputdownable memoir about love and heartbreak, sex and celibacy, growing up and starting again. * SHEERLUXE * Forrest, now 45, had a hugely successful adolescence. A teenage columnist for The Sunday Times, she became a music journalist and published her first novel, Namedropper, aged 22. She went on to write more novels before leaving journalism to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Her 2011 memoir Your Voice in My Head detailed her experience with mental illness, suicide attempts and the death of her psychiatrist, and in part examined her relationship with the actor Colin Farrell. Barbara Fasano breezes up onto the stage, like a gust of fresh air ... Ms. Fasano doesn't only provide knowledgable and skilled musical storytelling,she lends an air of levity, playfulness, and joy ... a treat to behold, and to hear." ~ Stephen Mosher, Broadway World

BUSY definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary BUSY definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

I've really never read about sex and been so sharply reminded about how much it is tied up with the fundamentals of being a woman. This deep part of ourselves that somehow gets side-lined and subordinated by everything else. This ecstatic voice we so often manage to ignore. I can hear Emma's voice though, and it's woken me up -- Minnie Driver, author of Managing Expectations The Hungover Games by Sophie Heawood is one of the only books I have allowed myself to re-read in recent years. A hilarious memoir based between London and LA, such is my obsession with it that I will read anything and everything that Heawood subsequently recommends. And so it was that when she recently shared a picture of Busy Being Free by Emma Forrest on its publication day, I soon after bought it, and moved it to the top of my ever-growing pile of books I Want To Finish Before The Year Is Out. Barbara Fasano is the real deal! A natural romantic interpreter... The beauty of the Arlen songs and the breathlessness of Fasano’s beautiful singing comes fully through. Each musical genre has examples of albums that demand repeated listening and appreciation... this is one of them!" The most delicious memoir that kept me in bed all day. I wonder what it is like to live with a mind like Forrest's, which makes such shooting connections between things and sees a great pattern in it all. I think she might be a genius. Eve Babitz didn't die, she just regenerated as Emma Forrest -- Sophie Heawood, author of THE HUNGOVER GAMESBUSY BEING FREE finds Barbara Fasano in peak form ... an assured singer with a warmly appealing sound who does full justice to the lyrics of the songs that she performs ... exhibits superb taste ... The band is all a singer could want, with each of the players making solid contributions to the whole ... a consistently engaging album by a terrific singer and the cats who surround her."~ Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz Magazine So many of you have been so generous during these past 2 years. As we re-emerge from this COVID crisis, it's still tough days for all of us ... including performers. If you'd like to buy us a drink at the bar, GO HERE. photo: Jeff Fasano