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Laurie Antonioli: News

America the Beautiful - July 10, 2011

RICHIE BEIRACH IS COMING! - June 26, 2011

In February, he'll be here on the West Coast.  We're doing SF Yoshi's, master classes and some other West Coast venues.  Stay tuned!

American Dreams Sheet Music - April 1, 2011

Anyone interested in receiving the charts for the "American Dreams" recording contact Laurie at lauriea@laurieantonioli.com

Best of 2010 - C. Michael Bailey - January 6, 2011

Best of 2010 - Arnaldo DeSouteiros - January 6, 2011

Laurie Antonioli, Jazzschool's Vocal Director - October 15, 2010

San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, May 10th 

 

Laurie Antonioli is having a party and has invited all of her friends - Clairdee, Kim Nalley, Madeline Eastman, Theo Bleckmann and Kitty Margolis, to name just a few of the well-known singers who preach what they practice as part of the Jazzschool's vocal faculty.

Antonioli has been involved with the school for about 10 years, teaching between gigs when she was in the Bay Area. After spending several years performing in Europe, she returned to the Bay Area and in 2006 was offered the job of director of the Jazzschool's Vocal Jazz Studies program, which involves not only developing the vocal education program but also finding people in the Bay Area music community to teach at the school, coordinating concerts and setting up workshops.

She sees teaching as a natural extension of performing.

"Teaching is a very creative act, especially when you're working with singers and songs and phrasing and interpretation," she says. "It's a very creative thing to do. I've had enough of a career traveling, so I'm not really keen on being on the road all the time." She jokes about inviting all her friends to teach at the school, but it's her position in the Bay Area music scene that gives her access to great singers who are also great teachers.

"I'm not an academic when it comes to music," she says. "I learned on the bandstand - I learned more in the oral tradition. So I try to teach that way, too."

The challenge, she says, is: "Here's this thing that's very expressive, emotive, and now we're going to put it into a school, but you have to make sure you don't wring the life out of it."

Jazz Times Review of "American Dreams" - September 25, 2010

http://jazztimes.com/articles/26530-american-dreams-laurie-antonioli

 

It’s ironic, really, that one of America’s foremost jazz vocal instructors is comparatively little known as a jazz vocalist. It’s equally ironic that so exceptional a jazz teacher garnered her training less from formal classes than from studying three masters: Nancy King, Mark Murphy and Pony Poindexter. Her work as an educator began in 2002 at KUG University in Graz, Austria, and it was there she began collaborating with pianist and composer Fritz Pauer.

Five of their joint efforts form the backbone of this cunning reverse travelogue, which examines the tremendous pull of home and its familiar comforts one feels from distant shores. American Dreams opens with two ostensibly Austria-centric collaborations: the sizzling, propulsive “Samba Nada Brahma,” shaped of the homesickness for the Marin countryside Antonioli felt upon discovering the Vienna woods, and the dreamily melancholy “Vienna Blues,” which speaks to the hopeless desire of finding an ideal locale to rekindle a fading romance. Their “How Long” paints a stirringly plaintive portrait of a woman’s wait for her lover’s return, while “Sweet Sound of Spring,” with its folk underpinnings, examines the intense—if too often overlooked—beauty of the familiar.

Antonioli returns to domestic musical soil for an arresting, angular “Moonlight in Vermont,” a languid “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” wide as the Oklahoma sky, and a delightfully twangy “Dreary Black Hills” that opens up to reveal the glorious expansiveness of her own “Get Up and Go.” But it is her gently soaring, blues-lined “America the Beautiful,” arranged by guitarist Dave McNab, that truly brings the album home.

CD of the Month! - September 14, 2010

#5 on Bob Parlocha's Playlist!! - September 12, 2010

Review from Dan McClenaghan - August 26, 2010

American Dreams, Antonioli's song of praise to her homeland, showcases a wonderfully confident jazz vocalist and consummate storyteller at the top of her game.

 

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37308

Interview with Brian McCoy about "American Dreams" - August 22, 2010

Sheet Music Available - August 21, 2010

Greetings everyone!   Any of the original songs on the new "American Dreams" CD are available.  Please contact lauriea@laurieantonioli.com for more information.

 

"Soul Eyes" Vinyl for Sale - August 3, 2010

Laurie's first LP, "Soul Eyes," a duo with George Cables, is available.  These are brand new, unopened LP's.  Cost:  $20 plus postage.  Please send an email to lauriea@laurieantonioli.com for more information.

CD RELEASE CONCERT - August 23rd! - August 3, 2010

Come to the beautiful room at Yoshi's San Francisco on Monday, August 23rd at 8pm.  One show only!  The entire American Dreams band will be there. 

Follow this link to buy tickets:  http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artist/show/1366

"Emerging as the most important vocalist, let alone jazz vocalist, this decade." - July 6, 2010

Lot's of exciting reviews - July 3, 2010

Spotlight Song of the Week:



Laurie Antonioli: Just a Dream 

[purchase]

I continue to receive albums of fine jazz singing, and the artists continue to be female. The latest example to come my way is Laurie Antonioli. The album is American Dreams, and the songs are mostly originals. Antonioli writes the words, and uses a number of cowriters for the music, most notably Fritz Pauer. Antonioli and her collaborators create songs that sound like standards. There is a lush romanticism in the words and melodies that belongs to a different, more innocent time. And Antonioli’s performances make it work. These songs wind up sounding classic, not dated. Antonioli shows impressive technical ability, but more than that, she believes in those songs, and the honest emotion comes through on each song. Just A Dream is a fine example, just one of many found here.

 

http://oliverdiplace.blogspot.com/

First Review of "American Dreams" - June 7, 2010

Here it is: http://bit.ly/baNPfW

America the Beautiful - January 19, 2010

We've released a single from our upcoming album. You can find it on iTunes and Amazon. "America the Beautiful." Click here to get the song:

http://www.amazon.com/America-The-Beautiful/dp/B0030ZKZVG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1265332706&sr=1-7
The "American Dreams" release won't be until Spring 2010, but this sneak preview will give you a chance to sample what's coming!

Soul Eyes LP now Available Digitally - August 25, 2009

Laurie's debut recording made in 1985 with pianist George Cables will soon be available on all the major online distribution sites including iTunes and Amazon.

Spring News - March 19, 2009

The Jazzschool is finishing up the Winter Quarter with recitals that are open to the public starting March 23 through the 30th. Go to www.jazzschool.com to see the schedule. As well, registration is open for the Spring Quarter. Please call 510-845-5373 to sign up for classes.

In May, Laurie's latest project "American Dreams" will be featured in a fundraiser and private concert on May 2nd. Contact laurie@laurieantonioli.com for more details. On May 30th, she appears at the Jazzschool in concert. You can buy tickets online at the school website.

The "American Dreams" project has been brewing for sometime. Here's an excerpt from Laurie's description and invitation:

"Dreams come in many forms. As artists, we represent dream worlds in our work. The line between the practical, so-called real world and the mindscapes of imagination blur and are always at play for us. When I lived overseas from 2002-2006, I would dream of being back in the States - even though I enjoyed the European aesthetic and lifestyle, there was a longing that can only be described as homesickness. And then, once home, with our country in a state of crisis, yet with so much hope on the horizon, the concept of the "American Dream" is at the front of my mind.

My latest project, "American Dreams" is a collection of songs that have a uniquely American sound informed by those years abroad. The songs spring from traditional American Folk music as well as a large helping of original compositions with my lyrics.

Please join me for an intimate concert, held in the informal setting of my home, to raise funds for our recording in the summer of 2009. We will preview the songs and tell the stories behind them. I invite you to be part of our American Dreams."

A Great Year and More to Come - December 17, 2008

Laurie has been working with Jazzschool Director Susan Muscarella putting the finishing touches on the Vocal Program for the Jazzschool Institute which will start in the Fall 2009. Auditions take place in March 2009 - contact laurie@jazzschool.com for more information.

Fall is Upon Us - August 22, 2008

Take a look at all the interesting classes at the Jazzschool: www.jazzschool.com Among the offerings are World Music classes: Eastern European Songs and Vocal Techniques, Irish Songs and Vocal Techniques, Indian Vocal Techniques, and many jazz classes including "The Creative Jazz Singer", Vocal Improvisation and a "The Art of the Duo". Laurie is going into her 3rd season as the Director of the Vocal Program at the Jazzschool.

Laurie was in Austria, Germany and Turkey in March and April of 2008 -- putting the final touches on her latest recording with Richie Beirach, doing a workshop and also some concert appearances. Now back in the Bay Area, she has been busy with putting together the curriculum for the new Jazzschool Institute with Director Susan Muscarella. This 4 year degree program will be a highly specialized, singer-friendly program. Auditions in March 2009, The Institute opens in the Fall 2009.

Purchase "Soul Eyes" LP - October 19, 2007

Catero Records went out of business many years ago, but, recently the LP's were found and are available to purchase. "Soul Eyes", a duo recording between Laurie Antonioli and pianist George Cables was recorded in 1985. It's a collection of Standards, Bebop and some original songs and lyrics. A gem of a record recorded live to 2 track by Fred Catero.

To buy an LP, contact: laurie@laurieantonioli.com

SPARK! - July 29, 2007

Watch an interview with Laurie and see her in concert on the PBS Arts Show Spark! To View, just click on:
http://www.kqed.org/arts/people/spark/profile.jsp?id=18100

Concert! - May 3, 2007

Ms. Antonioli will debut her new group featuring Peter Horvath on piano, John Schifflett on bass and Jason Lewis on Drums in a concert on Saturday, June 2nd at 8:00 at the Jazzschool.

Seating is limited, buy tickets online: www.jazzschool.com
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