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Dawn Lambeth
Dawn's silky voice and sparkling rapport with audiences have made her a favorite performer throughout the Central Coast of California for over 20 years. As jazz writer Michael Steinman put it, her “gentle expressiveness makes familiar songs gleam like old silver, freshly polished.” Her sound is rooted in the swing and traditional jazz of the 1920s–50s, drawing on influences like Connee Boswell, Lee Wiley, young Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as big band singers such as Ivie Anderson and Jo Stafford.
Dawn grew up singing in choirs and studying classical piano before falling in love with jazz — first through her high school jazz choir, then through a chance encounter with stride piano and the late-1930s recordings of Billie Holiday that showed her exactly where she belonged musically. Since settling in Paso Robles, California, in 2001, she has led her own swing band and developed a reputation as a skilled self-accompanist on piano.
Dawn has released three albums: I Get Ideas (2025), Midnight Blue (2005), and Let's Get Lost (2008), the latter receiving airplay on over 100 radio stations across the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Japan, breaking into the CMJ Jazz Charts Top 40, and earning reissue by Japan's VividSound label. As jazz critic Scott Yanow observed at the time in the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, “Historic models aside, Dawn Lambeth has her own approach to interpreting swing standards, she often includes the verses, and she clearly believes in the words and the timeless spirit of the music.”
Her festival credits include recent appearances at the West Texas Jazz Party and San Diego Jazz Party, alongside long-standing repeat performances at the Redwood Coast Music Festival and Monterey Jazz Bay By the Bay. Dawn has spent 25 years performing at traditional jazz festivals throughout the West Coast, including the acclaimed San Diego Jazz Fest, LA's Sweet and Hot Music Festival, and the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, as well as jazz festivals in Osaka, Japan and performances at storied venues like Hearst Castle and the Smithsonian Institution. In addition to leading her own groups, Dawn has performed with celebrated bands including Dave Stuckey's Hot House Gang and Marc Caparone's Back O'Town All Stars, and has shared the stage with musicians such as Rossano Sportiello, Harry Allen, Dan Barrett, Duke Robillard and Carl Sonny Leyland. Beyond the festival circuit, Dawn is a beloved regular on the Central Coast, performing at jazz venues, wineries, hotels, and private events throughout the region.
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Dawn Lambeth: I Get Ideas
by Richard J Salvucci
Not everyone was fortunate enough--or long lived enough--to have been around for the glory days of Benny Goodman's 1937 band, with a young Martha Tilton singing songs she barely knew, and scared to death of Benny as well. But the Liltin' Miss Tilton was plenty talented, and she made a big impression soon enough. And if a listener just moved the dial a bit, Connee Boswell or Lee Wiley could be found too. They were spectacularly good singers: great phrasing, ...
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