Results for "Paso Robles, California"

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.