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Lisa Gary

Twenty-three-year old vocalist, lyricist and composer Lisa Janine Gary hails from a musical household in New York. She grew up surrounded by her father’s passion for jazz. At the age of 9 she began her music studies on the trumpet under his primary instruction. “It was the best time of my life when the three of us: Dad, my brother, and I sat around playing trumpet trios all day. My family always bonded through the music”. After years of playing both classical and jazz trumpet, Lisa was drawn to the art of vocal jazz at the age of 16 and soon after was honored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts in their Vocal Jazz category.

Lisa pursued her love for music throughout her education. In the Spring of 2009, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Performance from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Montreal, with the honor of Outstanding Achievement in Jazz Voice. Lisa’s most recent accolade was her acceptance into the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, the world’s most prestigious jazz competition, which focuses on a different instrument every year. She was selected out of hundreds of submissions from thirty-three countries to be one of twelve semi-finalists. In October 2010, she performed at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. for Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Patti Austin. Prior to finishing her degree, in the Summer of 2008, Lisa competed in Switzerland at the renowned Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition after being selected out of a world-wide pool of applicants.

During her years in Montreal, Lisa was very involved in the city’s music scene. She performed the theme song at Le Savoy Metropolis, as part of the press release of the Montreal Jazz Festival DVD in the Summer of 2009, preceding the 30th edition of the festival. She was one of the headliners for La Fete De La Musique 2009, the 1st edition to take place in Montreal. In addition, Lisa has been the vocalist for the Starlight Children's Foundation working along with Larry Day, a DJ for one of Montreal’s top pop radio stations. She later made her radio debut in an interview with Mr. Day, during which she sang live on his show on Q92.5. She also worked as a studio musician, recording the vocal tracks for a CBC series.

Lisa made her debut at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club in October 2011, and has been singing at a variety of venues in NYC including the Iridium and at the noted Montreal jazz clubs the Upstairs, House of Jazz, Diese Onze. Influenced by master classes taken with Jon Hendricks, Lisa is exploring the world of lyricism in a different light. She is mastering vocalese, the art form invented by Mr. Hendricks. You can hear some of Lisa's vocalese on her recordings of “All of Me” and “Basella”.

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