“Laura Karst’s debut solo release Little Did I Dream is a delightfully produced and well thought out gem that is as entertaining a release as you can find... wondrous and exciting... [She] sings these tunes with a joyous abandon seldom heard from seasoned performers on major label deals.... a story teller that has the innate ability to create a musical connection between herself and the audience... flawlessly arranged, this is how you sing jazz!” --Brent Black, @CriticalJazz.com, March 2012
"Jazz is not dead, and as long as artists like Laura Karst are around, it won’t become a lost art either. If you fancy the old queens of jazz like Ella & Etta or their modern counterparts, you will love Karst’s velvety voice. She has worked with legends and performed in both groups and as a soloist. Right now, she’s all ours." --Victor Alfieri, Indie Music Reviewer Magazine, March 2012.
Bay Area jazz vocalist Laura Karst has performed frequently as both a soloist and as part of vocal jazz groups. She has studied solo jazz voice with the legendary Roger Letson for many years, and had the honor of singing in the award-winning 6-member vocal jazz ensemble Vocal Flight under Letson’s direction. This group, consisting of three male and three female vocalists, won two major national awards during Laura’s tenure with them: they took First Place at the 2007 Reno Jazz Festival, and their album "Make the Move" won Downbeat Magazine’s 2008 “Outstanding Performance” award.
Laura has also studied with Madeline Eastman, as well as with renowned European jazz vocalists Thierry Péala and Laurence Saltiel in master classes in France. She is experienced as a solo performer, having gigged in a number of Bay Area jazz venues, including Tarragon in Sunnyvale, Sumika in Los Altos, the Fairmont San Jose's elegant Lobby Lounge, and the Octavia Lounge in San Francisco.
Her recent debut solo album, "Little Did I Dream", was recorded with some of the Bay Area’s finest jazz musicians: Adam Shulman on piano, Doug Pohorski on acoustic bass, Joey Niehuis on drums, and Jim Schneider on tenor saxophone. The CD comprises 11 songs that showcase Laura’s warm, alto voice, and her talent for singing in a wide range of jazz styles, and in a variety of languages. The album includes swing, scat, bossa nova, samba, waltz, and ballads — tunes ranging from the 1940s to the new millennium — sung in English, French, and Portuguese.
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