8pm: $10; 9.15pm: $10; 10.30pm: Free
Toronto based singer Melissa Lauren has smoothly made the transition from veteran swing “crooness” to charting songwriter. With a strong influence in jazz and blues, Melissa has developed an original style of her own melting together old school sounds with modern flare. Having just wrapped up her recent recording project, she is getting to release her sophomore album in Fall of 2015.
The singer’s love for swing and jazz music began when she started performing with the Toronto All-Star Big Band; she continued singing with them until 2004. She had the opportunity to work with and open for many wonderful musicians; Jeff Healey, Gordon Lightfoot, Renee Lee, Henry Questa, Tommy Ambrose, Peter Appleyard, Buddy DiFranco, Jackie Richardson, and Clark Terry to name a few.
For the upcoming album, Melissa collaborated songwriting and producing efforts with Toronto bassist Mark Cashion, and the outcome is a quirky, more playful sound that tests an interesting balance of darker harmonies and more theatrical grooves, coupled with the singer's signature delicate word inflections.
