SARA GAZAREK

Graced with an “impeccable” voice (Winnipeg Free Press), Sara Gazarek has been one of the leading lights of an impressive generation of jazz vocalists since her brilliant emergence at age 20. Gazarek’s experience began in the overcast light of Seattle, where she was originally drawn to musical theater and dance but fell in love with the jazz choir during high school. She went on to study at the University of Southern California, where she’s now been a member of the faculty for 8 years.While her subsequent career has been the picture of success – highlighted by five acclaimed albums, an ardent fanbase, enthusiastic reviews, a teaching position at the University of Southern California, and collaborations with such luminaries as Kurt Elling, Fred Hersch, Billy Childs, and Larry Goldings – it is with her latest double GRAMMY® nominated album, Thirsty Ghost, that Gazarek finally brings her musical expression stunningly into phase with her emotional maturity. Prompted by an intense period of personal and professional upheaval, the “exquisite taste, bright wit and creative vitality” hailed by WNPR remain, but those qualities are potently shaded by a rich undercurrent of complex feeling and whole-hearted realities.