“LaVon Hardison is more than a singer. She’s a multi-talented entertainer who simply lights up a room, raising the roof and bringing down the house. Hardison has brashness and sass when she needs it, but a warm sense of connection is her secret weapon. She has a flair for the theatrical, as well as a big sense of humor, and is as popular with fellow musicians as she is with audiences.”
—Interview by Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz
“A stylishly eclectic singer, Hardison is an artist for whom the song is king. She’s the type of interpreter who knows how to put across the emotion and subtlety in a melody without overselling it, and she has a talent for getting inside the story that each song tells.”
— Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz
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“LaVon Hardison is more than a singer. She’s a multi-talented entertainer who simply lights up a room, raising the roof and bringing down the house. Hardison has brashness and sass when she needs it, but a warm sense of connection is her secret weapon. She has a flair for the theatrical, as well as a big sense of humor, and is as popular with fellow musicians as she is with audiences.”
—Interview by Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz
“A stylishly eclectic singer, Hardison is an artist for whom the song is king. She’s the type of interpreter who knows how to put across the emotion and subtlety in a melody without overselling it, and she has a talent for getting inside the story that each song tells.”
— Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz
“I’m not sure I ever fell in love with someone as quickly and irrevocably as with LaVon Hardison. Being raised in the Gospel of the church, being trained in the opera, now delivering Jazz vocals difficult to compare, and with a band that knows how to create what LaVon envisions, has given her all she needs to give her audience an experience of joy, passion, fun and…let me say it…love”
— Travis Rogers, Jr. aka The Jazz Owl, Jazz Times
“She did it, LaVon Hardison sang her way to the top at the 12th annual Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalist Audition last night at Jazz Alley. Using her soulful, R&B style, Hardison remade the standards and asserted her own strong, yet breezy personality for such a memorable impression that judges couldn’t help but hand her the win in the adult division.”
— Examiner.com
“Cover albums like this are great jumping off points for anyone looking to get into Jazz music without going full bore and trying to understand the kaleidoscope of sounds the genre sometimes has to offer. If you’re like me, a film lover and soundtrack fan, you’re going to find yourself connecting with the album easily. If you’re not, Hardison and company offer up a potpourri of styles on the album that should grab your attention and bring you in from start to finish.”
— AJ Garcia, Shakefire (review link)
“Displaying a natural ease for the smooth jazz palette, vocalist LaVon Hardison sounds comfortable delivering a repertoire that bridges classic pop with sunny blues and swing-tinted soul. Her third release Come Together vibrates a melodic sonorous that massages the listener’s aural senses, pleasing a wide range of audiences. Passionate and focused, Hardison takes command of her performance demonstrating a style that is irrefutably all her own.”
— Susan Frances, AXS (review link)
“…LaVon Hardison has a startlingly clear, sweet voice, resembling not just a little Ella Fitzgerald’s. She’s right in Ella’s bag on much of Choices, but she’s got the versatility to try a few other directions as well, making this a consistently stimulating CD. … Through it all her pure tone and crisp but warm diction never wavers and it all sounds easy. … Choices is a great record!”
— Tom Peterson, Victory Review
“Choices is a breath of fresh air in a climate of ho-hum vocal albums. LaVon’s voice and the arrangements of these well-known tunes makes each track a new journey with an old friend. Of particular note are “It’s Alright With Me,” and “Shop Around” (I NEVER thought I’d want to hear that again after Toni Tenneile’s syrupy version…) There are no low points on this release- just a great time.”
— John Ford, Jazz/Blues Director, KAOS-fm
"saucy..."
-New York Times
"LaVon’s singing gives us the rare joy of hearing an agile voice in the service of an agile mind … and all of it blessed by a rompin’ good sense of humor. Pure fun, every time!"
-Juli Kelen, K.A.O.S. fm
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