More about moi self:

Born in Paris, France to two beret-loving Amuuricans, I spent my youth banging away at the piano. Then at age 14, a very special middle school music teacher at the Sidwell Friends School named Rickey Payton, Sr. got me out there singing pop, r&b, broadway, and soul at venues in Washington D.C. For a nerdy kid who wasn’t even allowed to stay up to watch Saturday Night Live, I relished this opportunity! Our ultimate ‘house party’ gig was The White House, where Rickey and I performed an extended set of Christmas music for the First Lady.

At Princeton University (BA in music composition, high honors), I found that writing musical compositions for credit was a sneaky way to get out of writing essays. My senior thesis composition, under the tutelage of guitarist/composer Steven Mackey, was entitled, “A(n) history of the Jews in 7 Parts.” With the Princeton University Jazz Ensemble, I won a Downbeat award for best college combo album. And taking home the Sachs prize for “best musical performer at Princeton University” really gave me a big head.

As much fun as it was singing 80’s tunes at Jersey weddings, upon college graduation I moved to Boston to pursue a Master’s in Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. Highlights included shedding randomized saxophone patterns with George Garzone (ya dig?), warbling  Klezmer and Ladino with Hankus Netsky and Theodore Bikel on PBS, and nerding out on George Russell’s “Lydian Chromatic Concept.” R.I.P. George ❤️

More recently, I earned a PhD in musicology from UCLA. My dissertation - Journey to the Flat Side: dualism, subdominants, stacked fourths, pentatonics, and the ‘musical left’ - showcases my askew, left-handed way of looking at the world. I had a blast at UCLA with advisor Bob Fink, teaching courses on jazz, music theory, pop analysis, film music, and Motown.

As a commercial and concert artist, my “can-do” mantra has opened the door to a wide range of musics: Brazilian bossa/samba, Hindustani, baroque, big opera, Flamenco, soul, rock, musical theatre, Klezmer, bluegrass, and always 80’s tunes…the dorkier, the better! Infamously, I performed the ‘real’ virtuosic vocals for Hillary Duff in “Raise Your Voice,” and have also been featured prominently in many film/tv shows/commercials, including “Rendition,” with Meryl Streep and Jake Gyllenhaal, “Into the Wild” and “A Haunting in Connecticut.” I’m particularly proud of my ads for toilet paper, menstruation products, and upset stomach! 

As a founding member of LA-based “The Red Quartet,” I get to sing and write inventive arrangements of Bach, Latin musics, jazz, French Cabaret, and the Beatles. Recently I have been performing with the Earth Harp Collective, and various classical and new music ensembles. These days, I perform and record solo voice/piano as a one-woman band, which I liken to walking and chewing gum at the same time (note: I am unable to walk and chew gum at the same time).

To my family’s chagrin, I bang away at the piano many hours a day, and am excited to be releasing two albums of original music soon!