July 23rd, 2021 7pm Stage
As of June 16, 2021, New York State has lifted all COVID-19 related restrictions that apply to a venue of Rockwood’s size. In accordance with these revised guidelines, vaccination records will no longer be checked, nor will social distancing or masks be required, while masks will remain highly recommended for non-vaccinated individuals.
Lauren Lee
Lauren Lee is an adventurous vocalist, pianist, and composer based in New York City. Her foray into creative music began as a teenager in the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, which lead her on a wild goose chase of sorts to find her own sound in the adventurous music scene as a young innovator. Likened to female jazz pioneers that came before her like Carla Bley and Jen Shyu as well as non-jazz visionaries like Bjork and Meredith Monk, her work intentionally inhabits this place of “between”, and in Lee’s case, the “between” is nestled between where jazz has been and where jazz is going. Her work is praised for her virtuosic improvisational abilities on both piano and voice, as well as her emotional and harmonic prowess as a composer. She has lead bands on several tours across Europe and the US and has served as artist-in-residence for the UNCOOL festival in Poschiavo, Switzerland (notably spearheaded by the Sun Ra Arkestra). Her work has been reviewed and featured in major jazz publications such as Downbeat, Jazziz, and The New York City Jazz Record. Lee has released three albums as a leader: The Consciousness Test (self-released, 2016), Windowsill (ears&eyes, 2019), and The Queen of Cups (ears&eyes, 2021). In addition to being an active composer and working musician, Lee creates music education content (videos and downloadable PDFs) targeted toward jazz vocalists called Sing Like a Horn, a comprehensive approach to playing your voice like an instrument, and also maintains a private teaching studio.
"Among jazz pianists who sing or jazz singers who play, she is at the top of the list"
- New York Music Daily