Leah Randazzo - Vocals Andy Taylor - Guitar David Picchi - Bass Justin Annis - Drums Jon Bean - Tenor Sax Andrew Smicker - Trumpet Paul Olesuk - Trombone
Thanks to your votes, we won BEST JAZZ in the Valley Advocate's Grand Band Slam for the second year in a row! Check out their website for upcoming details http://valleyadvocate.com/
Composer and vocalist Leah Randazzo, 23, is a naturally gifted performer of uncommon charisma who knows how to bring an audience to its feet with her powerful voice and high-energy stage performance. Her original songs, described as jazz-infused R&B and funk, are sophisticated and soulful compositions that belie her young age. Leah's stunning debut album "At the Root," produced by Michael Gregory, has been acclaimed for having a sound that doesn't pigeonhole itself stylistically; musically it's as dynamic and fluid as Randazzo's voice.
The Leah Randazzo Group, a septet that includes vocals, rhythm section, and horns, formed in the spring of 2005 and has been touring nationally since. The Leah Randazzo Group was recently named "Best Jazz" for the second year in a row in western Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley (Valley Advocate). Additionally, the group was honored with the grand prize for music in September 2007 on OurStage.com and received a nomination for "Oustanding Jazz Act" in the 2007 Boston Music Awards. "At their most boisterous - as on the brash "My Weapon" - the band's songs are highly danceable and colored with punchy horn lines. At their most sensitive - as on the piano and string-laced Morning Song - they blow the work of Starbucks divas like Norah Jones out of the water." (Nick R. Scalia, Play Magazine)
"Leah Randazzo has a mature songwriting sensibility and the voice to back it up...equal parts jazz, blues and soul, and Randazzo has the chops to hang with upper-echelon singers in any of these genres. Her backing band is equally versatile, moving effortlessly between bombastic funk and self-assured jazz, refraining from overplaying and allowing Randazzo's voice to shine." - Casey Hayman, Local Buzz, Pioneer Valley
"Backed by a jazz-inflected, horn-heavy septet, Randazzo barrels through earthy R&B and funk on her debut, At the Root. While she's not quite in step with the trendy neo-soul genre, both her voice and her band are probably a bit too big for that pigeonhole anyway." - Aaron Jentzen, Pittsburgh City Paper, Pittsburgh, PA
"This Northampton darling can roar through jazz numbers with a voice that’s as mind-blowing as a wind tunnel’s force. Randazzo skats and spats with charismatic enunciation, cooing and purring over her words with the seduction of a sex-kitten. After visualizing her innocent youth, it seems she’s barely even legal to be a teenage heartbreaker, much less a jazz vocalist. But her voice is seasoned beyond her mere 23 years of life, peppered with a spice all its own." - Shea Carver, Encore Magazine, Wilmington, NC
"Leah Randazzo came through with her band and they straight killed it." -Justin Strong, 7thmovement, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
"Leah could easily pass for an American version of Amy Winehouse without the drama." - pubrecords.com
Hey Leah! hope you're doing well. I just watched your ourstage videos, they're great. Let me know when you guys are playing in Cambridge/Boston again, Nicole and I will definitely try to make it out. later, Jesse
Hey guys, just wanted to say that I had a blast playing with you last week. I look forward to the next time you're in town, so I can come out and watch!
Greetings from the Durty South. Hope all is well. Wanted to reach out and spread a little Lisa love your way. Let me know if your going to be in the NY area in May. I'll be in town and would love to catch a show. I'm in need of a Randazzo fix! Til then....Keep groovin and rockin those soulful tunes~
Hi Leah Randazzo!!! I was at the Blue Note concert, after the McCoy Tyner. I..ve never heard about your group before, and It was a amazing surprise!!! I..ve love it! Congratulations! Best Wishes!
