New mother by day, jazz singer by night, Lori Carsillo set out to create a lullaby CD that would sooth babies and young children into sleep and at the same time, be easy on the ears of tired parents.

The seeds of Lullabies for Little Dreamers were planted from Lori’s earliest babysitting experience of singing many of the children to sleep. Years later, when she became serious about a career in music, her first couple of demo tapes made it into the hands of some mom friends, who remarked that their babies were lulled to sleep while listening to her jazz singing. Over the years, Lori collected names of songs she’d eventually want to record as lullabies but it wasn’t until just before the birth of her first son, William, that she began to realize what a great time it was to make the CD she had always dreamed about.

Lullabies for Little Dreamers is a lovely mix of traditional songs ("Hush Little Baby", "Brahms’ Lullaby") favorite classic children’s movie lullabies ("Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins, "My Own Home" from The Jungle Book), a few contemporary tunes (a new take on Madonna’s "Little Star"), one new original ("Sleep, Little Child" penned by Lori Carsillo along with the guitarist on the session, Jay Stapleton) and several traditional jazz songs ("Summertime", "Lullaby of Birdland", "Wait Till You See Her".) Reactions to the CD from mothers, fathers, and children of all ages have been unanimously positive – falling asleep has never been so easy!

From a young age, Lori Carsillo was surrounded by music – from her sister’s violin practice, to her parents’ impromptu singing, piano, and guitar playing, to the constant music played on the record player and radio – it was not unusual for someone in the family to break into song at any given moment.

A student of many different types of music including classical, opera, and musical theater, Lori gravitated towards jazz and was encouraged by her father who gave her classic jazz recordings to listen to. Both of her parents regaled her with stories of attending live performances of jazz greats, among other types of music and theater. Her parents accompanied Lori and her sister to many live music and stage performances in the Bay Area all through their early years.

Through high school, Lori sang and acted in school musicals, plays, and was the first official jazz singer with the Menlo-Atherton High School Jazz Band, which included a European Tour, performing in such jazz festivals as Umbria Jazz in Italy and The North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands. Later, at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, she again sang in the college’s jazz band and sang opera and musical theater.

Once out of college and back in the Bay Area, Lori moved to San Francisco and began her career as a jazz singer singing in such venues as Café Claude and Julie’s Supper Club. Over the years she has worked her way to performing the stage at the world renowned Yoshi’s Jazz House in Oakland and has produced two jazz CDs, Bittersweet, and a Cole Porter tribute, Cole Porter… Old Love, New Love, True Love. In addition to jazz, she has sung on two "cocktail lounge" CDs with her side project, the theremin-led band, Project: Pimento, and playing with the band at such stalwart San Francisco establishments as Great American Music Hall, Café du Nord, Club Deluxe, and most recently, Bimbo’s 365 Club.