Mary LaRose

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, vocalist Mary Larose was exposed to jazz at an early age by hearing her brother play jazz piano in his first band (with guitarist Jack Wilkins). Before pursuing music as a career, Mary Larose worked in visual arts, and her paintings were shown at the Brooklyn Museum. While in her twenties, Larose's focus turned to jazz singing, reinterpreting the jazz vocalese of Eddie Jefferson and Jon Hendricks. She has gigged all around New York, doing vocal interpretations of important post-bebop compositions by such greats as Monk, Mingus, Ornette, and Braxton. In 1995, she released her self-produced CD, Cutting the Chord (Ledhead Productions), which received acclaim in Downbeat, JazzIz, and Jazz Times magazines. Her follow-up recording, Walking Woman, came out on GMRecordings in late 1999. ~ Joslyn Layne