Image Entertainment Announces Exclusive Distribution Agreement For PS Classics Audio

31-Jan-02

Image Entertainment, Inc., a leading licensee and distributor of DVD programming in North America, today announced the signing of a multi-year agreement that will see the Company exclusively distribute the PS CLASSICS line of compact discs celebrating the musical heritage of Broadway and American Popular Song.Producer Tommy Krasker, founder of PS CLASSICS, started his producing career with an acclaimed series of Gershwin recordings funded by Mrs. Ira Gershwin. The series received the Edison Award, the Deutsch Schallplattenpreis and two Gramophone Awards.Krasker has produced recordings from artists Dawn Upshaw, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin among others. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award this year for his definitive concert recording of Stephen Sondheimís Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic. Previous Grammy nominations were awarded to Krasker for the original Broadway cast albums of Titanic and Footloose.PS CLASSICSís first three releases have received glowing praise from critics and musical theatre aficionados alike. Philip Chaffinís Where Do I Go From You?, hearkens back to the sweet tones and beguiling manner of the best big-band vocalists. Chaffin joins forces with conductor Eric Stern to revive the sounds of the early '40s. In selections ranging from best-loved standards -- including ""Serenade in Blue,"" ""At Last,"" and ""Love Is Here to Stay"" -- to little-known gems, they recreate an era where composers, arrangers, and singers reached new heights of musical ingenuity and invention. Where Do I Go From You? allows the best talents of one generation to celebrate the song stylings of another. Show Business called it, ìa tenorís dreamÖfilled with classic songs that are beautifully sung.îComposer Jerome Moross wrote ballets, film scores and classical works, but his first love was the theatre. ""There's always another melody to be written,"" he would say, and Windflowers: The Songs of Jerome Moross offers delectable proof, with selections from his stage shows Ballet Ballads, The Golden Apple, Underworld, and Gentlemen, Be Seated! - most unheard in nearly fifty years. Alice Ripley, Richard Muenz, Jessica Molaskey, Philip Chaffin, and Jenny Giering-five singers equally at home on Broadway, in cabaret, and in the recording studioñcelebrate an American original, in nineteen selections alternately playful and atmospheric, and always highly melodic.In his day, composer Vincent Youmans was every bit as famous as his peers Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin, Kern, and Porter. Through the Years (1932), his final Broadway score, is perhaps his most beautiful and accomplished. The New York Times originally called it ""felicitously melodious throughout, and in its mood, design and attempt to achieve a certain organic unity, far ahead of its predecessorsî ñ yet it has never been preserved on disc. Here, in its world premiere recording, a brilliant cast led by Heidi Grant Murphy and Brent Barrett brings this newly restored classic back to life.All three of these releases are now available exclusively through Image Entertainment.The first PS CLASSICS release debuting under the new distribution agreement will feature the works of Billy Strayhorn as sung by Broadway actor-singer Darius de Haas. Strayhorn, a long-time collaborator of Duke Ellington's, composed ""Take the 'A' Train,"" the tune that became Ellington's signature work. The new album, scheduled for release this Spring, is based on a concert de Haas performed in New York City last year at the Kaplan Penthouse as part of the American Songbook Series and then again during a two-week engagement at famed nightspot, Arci's Place. Writing for The New York Times, Stephen Holden called the show, ìelectrically thrilling.îCommenting on the agreement, Tommy Krasker said, ìI am very fortunate to have PS CLASSICS as an outlet to produce the kind of work I love. Now, with Image Entertainment locked in as distributor, I am confident that weíll be placed in front of a much larger audience than I ever could have imagined or hoped for.îImage Entertainment, Inc. is a leading aggregator of content for DVD with more than 1,700 Image-exclusive DVD titles in release. The Company also has exclusive audio, videocassette, broadcast, streaming video and downloading rights for many of their exclusive properties. The Company maintains its distribution facility in Las Vegas, Nevada and is one of the largest distributors of DVD programming in North America. Image has distribution agreements in Japan, China and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, and throughout most of Europe for select programming on DVD and videotape as well as for broadcast. Additionally, the Company owns and operates an e-commerce subsidiary, DVDPlanet.com.For information including product listings, new releases, upcoming titles, investor relations, and more, visit Image Entertainment online at: www.image-entertainment.com.

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