Lori Carsillo is a talented vocalist who is fast becoming a noted presence on the Bay Area jazz scene. With a unique combination of sweetness, sauciness and soulfulness, Carsillo brings to jazz a colorful style that is distinctly her own. Her repertoire, which has been praised by musicians and non-musicians alike, consists of tunes we all know and love, and introduces us to songs that should not be forgotten. Through these songs, she evokes a world of beauty and pathos. This world entices her audience to discover, along with her, the sorrow of heartbreak, the joy of a new love, the hopefulness of springtime. Always genuine, always swinging, it's no wonder that she's quickly built up a devoted following.
Carsillo's interest in music was nurtured from a young age in a family full of musicians and artists. Her early musical interest led her to study classical music and opera, as well as musical theatre. It was this exposure to musical theatre that introduced her to many of the standard songs in the jazz repertoire and ignited her passion for the genre. While jazz has remained her first love, Carsillo's wide-ranging musical interest has led her to experiment with projects from opera to funk to electronica. The diversity of her musical background culminates into a rich, colorful singing style.
Carsillo, a Bay Area native and San Francisco resident, auspiciously made her jazz singing debut at the 1988 Palo Alto Jazz Festival with the Menlo-Atherton High School Jazz Band. There, the band opened for Carmen McRae, Tuck & Patti, The Yellowjackets, among other jazz heavyweights. In 1990, Carsillo and the M-A Jazz Band toured and performed around Europe at such prestigious festivals as The North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands and Umbria Jazz in Italy. Expanding on this early experience, Carsillo has studied jazz with several internationally renowned jazz singers: the Bay Area's own Kitty Margolis, as well as Madeline Eastman and Blue Note recording artist, Kurt Elling, via the Stanford Jazz Workshop.
Most recently, Carsillo has been singing regularly in such San Francisco nightspots as Bruno's, Café du Nord, Club Deluxe, and Café Claude. She has appeared several times at such distinguished jazz clubs as Yoshi's Jazz House in Oakland, CA and plays with some of the Bay Area's favorite jazz musicians including Dave Mac Nab (Shelby Lynne, Scott Amendola Band), Brad Buethe (Kitty Margolis), Peter Barshay (Mark Levine & The Latin Tinge), John Shifflett (Paul Nagel Trio, Taylor Eigsti, Anne Dyer), and Jason Lewis (Paul Nagel Trio, Taylor Eigsti, Anne Dyer).
In September 2004, Carsillo followed her successful debut CD, Bittersweet - a collection of standards and lesser-known jazz tunes that create a vibe both noir and haunting, bright and transcending - with a tribute to Cole Porter entitled Cole Porter...Old Love, New Love, True Love. The CD features 10 stunning Cole Porter songs arranged by Dave Mac Nab, who also plays guitar on the session. They are accompanied by Devin Hoff (Good For Cows, Nels Cline Singers) on bass, and Alan U'Ren (Julian Lage, Art Hirahara) on drums. The release was celebrated at a party and concert at Bruno's nightclub.
In addition to singing straight-ahead jazz, Carsillo's love of 60's kitsch led her to join the theremin lounge band, Project: Pimento. Carsillo can be seen leading the band as "Lola Bombay," a chanteuse who teases, shimmies, and coos cocktail lounge favorites like James Bond themes, Mancini tunes, and Bacharach favorites, for an enthusiastic audience at some of the hippest clubs in town. Project: Pimento has been nominated twice for an SF Weekly Award and recently played for the Regional EMMY Awards Show at the Palace of Fine Arts.
Carsillo's vocal sophistication and musical timing connects with her audience and weaves a kind of magic. Audience members often comment after a show that they feel as though she has been singing directly to them. Carsillo's expressive interpretation of jazz has an ageless appeal. Her audiences are often filled with people of different backgrounds and musical tastes. With a vivacious and innate musical sense, Lori Carsillo is carving out her own place in the world of jazz.
