Laura Hull & Her Jazz Gems - Supper Club Live! (2011)

With influences ranging from Rosemary Clooney and Carmen McRae to Patsy Cline and k.d. Lang, Laura Hull delivers an extraordinary combination of rich, sultry, and expressive vocals with music drawn from an extensive repertoire of American popular songs, jazz standards, and her original songs.
A native of New York City, it all began for Laura at the age of seven when she took the first steps of her musical journey in an all-girls summer camp production of The King and I. Through her formative years, the road led her to the resorts of upstate New York's fabled Catskill Mountains, where she learned to sing in a variety of genres and styles. She spent time as a versatile session and jingle singer and show-cased her singing at clubs in and around New York City. After a 24-year hiatus from music to pursue a business career, and returned to live performance in 2004. In her many performances since, she has emerged as a melodic jazz singer who has a real feel for the Great American Songbook.
Back in 2006, Laura recorded and executive produced “Hullabaloo,” her debut CD of original music, which garnered several songwriting awards and received major radio play around the U.S. Her original tunes reflect her diverse musical interests and run the gamut from swing to well-crafted ballads and Bossa nova rhythms. Her music is licensed and played in both domestic and international markets.
In 2009, the strong success of Hullabaloo continued on the same high level with the release of “Take Me Home.” Noted jazz critic and author Scott Yanow wrote: “Laura Hull pays tribute to ten standards by adding subtle creativity, a real feel for the lyrics, and swing. Throughout this very pleasing set, she inhabits the songs and serves them well. All of the individual composers would be pleased with her tasteful treatments, as will listeners who enjoy superior material and classy singing.”
Her latest CD release, "Supper Club," was recorded live over two nights in the summer of 2009. The Jazz Gems are a group of NYC-area jazz all-stars that included Patrick Firth and Ted Brancato on piano, Steve LaSpina and Saadi Zain on bass, Tony Jefferson on drums, and Lenny Argese on guitar, who passed away shortly after this recording was made. This recording was released in his memory and all proceeds will be directed to a jazz studies scholarship in his name.
A member of Manhattan Artists and Cabarets, Recording Academy, and the New Jersey Jazz Society, where she serves as President, Laura performs at a variety of venues and festivals, and for corporate and private events. In addition to performing and composing, Laura operates a boutique entertainment agency, coaches singers, and speaks on the topic of vocal jazz.