Biography

San Francisco Bay Area jazz vocalist Laura Karst recently released her debut solo album, "Little Did I Dream". It was recorded with some of the Bay Area’s finest jazz musicians, and was produced by the internationally acclaimed vocal jazz educator and clinician Roger Letson. The CD comprises 11 songs that showcase Laura’s warm, alto voice, her interpretation of lyrics as a true story teller, and her versatility in 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.

Ms. Karst has performed frequently as both a soloist and as part of vocal jazz groups. She has studied solo jazz voice with Roger Letson for many years, and had the honor of singing in the prestigious and award-winning 6-member vocal jazz ensemble Vocal Flight under his 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 the renowned European jazz vocalists Thierry Péala and Laurence Saltiel in master classes in France.
[http://www.thierrypeala.com] [http://laurence.saltiel.free.fr/disques.php]

She is experienced as a solo performer, having gigged in a number of Bay Area jazz venues, including the elegant Lobby Lounge of the San Jose Fairmont, Angelica's Bell Theatre and Bistro in Redwood City, Tarragon in Sunnyvale, Sumika in Los Altos, and the Octavia Lounge jazz club in San Francisco. In July 2012 she also performed in two popular jazz clubs in Paris, Le Caveau des Légendes and Le Café Universel.

"Little Did I Dream" is streaming on Pandora. It is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, and numerous other on-line sources.