Staci Griesbach

About Me

My Jazz Story

Staci Griesbach is a Los Angeles-based vocalist bringing together a passion for jazz and country music as she specializes in reimagining the Great American Songbook of Country Music in the style of jazz. Rolling Stone lauded Griesbach’s first single “Walkin’ After Midnight” off her 2019 debut album My Patsy Cline Songbook as “a gorgeous jazz interpretation.” Her debut album features songs Patsy Cline made famous by some of Nashville’s most reknown songwriters such as Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard, Bob Wills, Willie Nelson and more, contributed greatly to building the Nashville Sound catalog; arguably in the same way Irving Berlin and Cole Porter contributed to the foundation of the traditional jazz standards. Similarly, Griesbach points out that Patsy Cline has arguably shaped and influenced nearly every female country singer today, much as Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday has in the jazz landscape. My Patsy Cline Songbook features 15 popular Cline classics reimagined including “She’s Got You,” “I Fall to Pieces,” and “Walkin’ After Midnight” and marks the first-ever, full-length Patsy Cline tribute album presented in a jazz and contemporary style. In the ultimate of compliments, Amos Perrine at No Depression magazine called the release “an album worthy of being added to the Great American Songbook.” Griesbach’s sophomore album celebrated the 25th anniversary of Shania Twain’s The Woman In Me, which was a true “coming of age” album for Griesbach growing up in rural Wisconsin. Rick Moore of American Songwriter commented, “In what would be difficult for most singers, Staci Griesbach somehow manages to combine the swing of Ella and Dinah with the country playfulness that Shania brought to these songs a quarter-century ago.” Released in 2020, My Shania Twain Songbook features collaborations with top jazz composers and arrangers as well as top musicians including Tamir Hendelman (Barbra Streisand, Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra), Michael O. Mitchell (Leslie Odom Jr.), Grammy winner Otmaro Ruiz (Diane Reeves), Rahsaan Barber (Kelly Clarkson) and Stuart Duncan (Diana Krall, Goat Rodeo). Griesbach’s most recent release is My George Jones Songbook, a collection of 14 tracks reinterpreted from country legend George Jones' six-decade recording career nestled in the style of jazz. Celebrating the late country icon's 90th birthday, Griesbach's album features many of the same jazz musicians from the previous albums, with Tamir Hendelman, Jeremy Siskind, Otmaro Ruiz, Rahsaan Barber and Addison Frie grounding her musical vision with arrangements that reach new heights with this album, including Jones' iconic ballad "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, 81, says of Griesbach's album "Genius. I love this album. From the heartfelt emotion on the ballads to the fun up-tempos throughout the album, Staci demonstrates her gifts, guts and guile.” Griesbach also created a signature series called SONGBOOK SINGLES™ honoring the great composers, songwriters and artists of the 20th Century. Launched in 2021, Griesbach’s new series will include songs ranging from the classic Great American Songbook to popular songs spanning genres from jazz and country music to musical theatre to rock and roll. The collection launched with two celebrated hits from the stage and silver screen including Academy Award-nominated 1951 Best Original Song “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” and “Moon River,” which took home the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1961 as well as the Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Raised on a working farm raising dairy replacement heifers in rural Wisconsin, Staci grew up studying piano, alto saxophone and voice throughout her childhood and started swinging into jazz through performing groups in her formative years, of which included playing alto saxophone in the high school jazz band. Staci developed a love for musical theatre as well, taking on lead roles in her school’s musical theater program and performing as a singer/dancer in the Wisconsin Singers, a Broadway revue-style show for several years while enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ​Staci started honing in on jazz studies with the Santa Monica College Vocal Jazz Ensemble and private studies with some of the jazz community’s finest teachers including Michele Weir, Tierney Sutton, Dave Stroud and Jeremy Siskind. In 2015, Staci started gigging locally in Los Angeles with a trio, and quickly realized she wanted to create a unique project where she could connect with audiences in an authentic way. While thinking about a recording, Staci wanted something authentic that she could perform and share with audiences, so she went back to her roots in Classic Country music. By the fall of 2015, Staci started working on arrangements with Michele Weir, studying with Brazilian artist and arranger Celia Vaz in Rio De Janeiro in February of 2016. In 2017, Staci took a break from the Patsy Cline tribute project to launch a You Tube series called "Staci Sings Ella," (#StaciSingsElla) celebrating the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald by singing 100 songs in 100 days for 100 years to commemorate the First Lady of Song's centennial in April of 2017. The three-month venture resulted in a benefit concert raising money for the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation. Staci has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Birdland, Catalina Jazz Club, Feinstein’s at Vitello’s, Rudy’s Jazz Club, and more. She holds a Bachelors of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a music performance certificate at Berklee Online. For nearly 15 years, Staci worked in marketing for the entertainment business at Sony Pictures Entertainment and still very much enjoys sitting back and watching a good movie — especially with a good soundtrack.