LATE NIGHT GROOVE SERIES: LEAH RANDAZZO

FEATURING:
Leah Randazzo, vocals
Andy Taylor, guitar
David Picchi, bass
Justin Annis, drums
Jon Bean, tenor sax
Andrew Smicker, trumpet
Paul Olesuk, trombone

Composer and vocalist Leah Randazzo, 23, is a naturally gifted performer of uncommon charisma who knows how to bring an audience to its feet with her powerful voice and high-energy stage performance. Her original songs, described as jazz-infused R&B and funk, are sophisticated and soulful compositions that belie her young age. Leah's stunning debut album "At the Root," produced by Michael Gregory, has been acclaimed for having a sound that doesn't pigeonhole itself stylistically; musically it's as dynamic and fluid as Randazzo's voice.

The Leah Randazzo Group, a septet that includes vocals, rhythm section, and horns, formed in the spring of 2005 and has been touring nationally since. The Leah Randazzo Group was recently named "Best Jazz" for the second year in a row in western Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley (Valley Advocate). Additionally, the group was honored with the grand prize for music in September 2007 on OurStage.com and received a nomination for "Oustanding Jazz Act" in the 2007 Boston Music Awards.

"At their most boisterous - as on the brash "My Weapon" - the band's songs are highly danceable and colored with punchy horn lines. At their most sensitive - as on the piano and string-laced Morning Song - they blow the work of Starbucks divas like Norah Jones out of the water." (Nick R. Scalia, Play Magazine)