Laurie Antonioli (born March 9, 1958) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
singer and record producer.
Early life and education
Antonioli was born in
Marin County
Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...
. California.
At the age of sixteen she began playing guitar and performing primarily her own original music as well as that of the singer-songwriters of the era.
["Berkeley sings, Jazzschool is hub that makes it happen"]
. ''Berkleyside'', April 12, 2012 by Andrew Gilbert In 1975 she won the American Songwriters Contest for high school students. She studied jazz at
Mt. Hood Community College
Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well a ...
in Gresham, Oregon and
Cal State Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
. Private teachers included
Mark Murphy and
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...
.
Career
After graduation, Antonioli continued composing and performing. In 1980, she toured in Europe for eight months straight with New Orleans saxophonist
Pony Poindexter
Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (February 8, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana – April 14, 1988, Oakland, California) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax. In 1940 he studied unde ...
. When Poindexter suffered a stroke, a record date in Paris with pianist
Kenny Drew
Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist.
Biography
Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...
was canceled and they were unable to finish out their tour. Laurie brought Pony back to California where she lived and led her own bands based out of San Francisco.
In 1983 she gave birth to a daughter, which limited her touring and performing. Two years later she signed with Catero Records. Her first album was the "live to two-track" ''Soul Eyes'', with
the title song given to her by composer
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
. She was accompanied by pianist
George Cables
George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Ar ...
; the album included jazz standards, original lyrics, and songs by Larry Gelb, and was produced by
Bob Parlocha
Robert "Bob" Parlocha (April 18, 1938 – March 15, 2015) was an American jazz expert who was best known as a radio host and programmer. He was also a professional saxophone player and gourmet cook. He was in wide syndication with his nighttime ...
.
After a hiatus from music, she settled in Vienna from 2002 to 2006 and began recording again. Her album ''Foreign Affair'',
released on Nabel Records, was a
Balkan jazz Balkan jazz is an umbrella term for jazz from different parts of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Jazz in the region may incorporate various types of Balkan music, especially folk musics (including "gypsy style"). It has embraced improv ...
hybrid recorded in Slovenia with musicians from Serbia, Albania, Germany, and the U.S. It was well received in Europe.
[Matthias Weiller, ''Jazz Podium'', Germany.] Her next album was ''The Duo Session'', also on Nabel, with pianist
Richie Beirach
Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist L ...
. She wrote lyrics to Beirach's compositions and to some
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
tunes and free improvisational pieces. This recording was also well-received but like ''Foreign Affair'' was known primarily to European audiences.
Antonioli worked as the Professor of the Vocal Department at KUG University's Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria from 2002 to 2006.
and living and performing in Europe, Antonioli was offered a position at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, California
as the school's vocal program director.
She created an eight-semester vocal performance curriculum
which was accredited by NASM in 2013. She also released her second American recording in 2010, ''American Dreams'' which received critical acclaim.
In 2014 Antonioli released ''Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light'' (
Origin Records
Origin Records is a jazz and classical music record label founded by drummer John Bishop in 1997.de Barros, Paul (July 2, 2002)Small label, big noise: Ballard's Origin Records drumming up national interest Seattle Times. With the help of drummer M ...
), a tribute to singer-songwriter
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
.
Discography
* ''Soul Eyes'' (Catero, 1985)
* ''Foreign Affair'' (Nabel, 2005)
* ''The Duo Session'' with
Richie Beirach
Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist L ...
(Nabel, 2005)
* ''American Dreams'' (Intrinsic Music, 2010)
* ''Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light: The Music of Joni Mitchell'' (Origin, 2014)
* ''Varuna'' (Origin, 2015)
* ''The Constant Passage of Time'' (Origin, 2019)
References
External links
Official web siteNenad Georgievski reviews ''Foreign Affair''Dan Bilawsky reviews ''American Dreams''Dan McClenaghan reviews ''American Dreams''Jim Santella reviews ''The Duo Session with Richie Beirach''Dan Bilawsky reviews ''Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light''C. Michael Bailey reviews ''Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonioli, Laurie
1958 births
Living people
American women jazz singers
American jazz singers
Origin Records artists
21st-century American women