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LaVon Hardison

LaVon Hardison sings jazz standards, originals, and her own eclectic and compelling arrangements of popular songs. She is equally at home at jazz clubs, corporate events, private parties, and sacred settings. Her background in musical theater, opera, and jazz provides a solid foundation for her accessible, joyful, and engaging musical explorations.

LaVon is beyond versatile. She brings her glowing, open heart to every performance and has thrilled audiences all over the world.

“I try to make music that delights me,” LaVon says. “When I first started singing jazz I felt that I had to do it a certain way. I had to be sultry and sophisticated. Now I follow my gut and I follow the song. I am more open musically. Time, mixed with life experience, awakens new depths in songs.”

“Anytime you introduce art or music into the world, it’s going to shift things. It’s either a mirror reflecting reality, or it will break someone’s heart open to see something within themselves. That kind of exposure is considered dangerous. The world is working very hard to keep up the veneer. Art and theater continue to tear down that facade. For some people, that’s troublesome. For me, it’s just perfect. I don’t even think of it as a conscious choice; it’s my natural response to the world.”

Awards

* Earshot Jazz 2017 Vocalist of the Year * Winner of the 2016 Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalist Audition * Featured Artist at World Festival of Sacred Music, New Delhi, India * Featured Artist at World Sacred Music Festival, Olympia, Washington, USA

LaVon Hardison: There Will Be Trouble

Read "There Will Be Trouble" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
November 1, 2018

Vocalist LaVon Hardison has been garnering recognition for her work on stage and in the studio in and around Seattle for several years. Named Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2017 by Earshot Jazz in Seattle, Hardison 's acclaim is largely relegated to the dynamic and innovative jazz scene in the Pacific Northwest. With a soulful sound rooted in her upbringing in the Baptist church, Hardison made her mark in theatre, before venturing into jazz stylings. Her strength ...

Album Review

LaVon Hardison: There Will Be Trouble

Read "There Will Be Trouble" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
October 12, 2018

LaVon Hardison, a vocalist originally from Boston, with roots in gospel, specializes in cover versions. Which is to say that she takes old pop songs and gives them new meaning... sometimes a darn sight more than they deserve. Other times--as Tom Lehrer once put it--she kicks them when they're down. The Rodgers and Hart number “My Funny Valentine," which opens proceedings, was written for the long forgotten 1937 musical “Babes In Arms." It went on to become a ...

Recording

Jazz Vocalist LaVon Hardison Celebrates Release of "Choices"

Source: All About Jazz
November 14, 2006

Olympia, WA - Jazz vocalist LaVon Hardison will celebrate the release of her debut solo CD Choices with a gala show and dessert party on Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

To be held at the Capitol Playhouse in downtown Olympia, the show will feature Hardison performing songs from her new album along with many of her musical collaborators, including veteran pianist Joe Baque, Steve Luceno (guitar, bass), Lorree Gardener (bass), and others.

Hardison's eclectic CD includes covers of jazz standards ...
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“LaVon Hardison is more than a singer. She’s a multi-talented entertainer who simply lights up a room, raising the roof and bringing down the house. Hardison has brashness and sass when she needs it, but a warm sense of connection is her secret weapon. She has a flair for the theatrical, as well as a big sense of humor, and is as popular with fellow musicians as she is with audiences.” —Interview by Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz

“A stylishly eclectic singer, Hardison is an artist for whom the song is king. She’s the type of interpreter who knows how to put across the emotion and subtlety in a melody without overselling it, and she has a talent for getting inside the story that each song tells.” — Andrew Luthringer, Earshot Jazz

“I’m not sure I ever fell in love with someone as quickly and irrevocably as with LaVon Hardison. Being raised in the Gospel of the church, being trained in the opera, now delivering Jazz vocals difficult to compare, and with a band that knows how to create what LaVon envisions, has given her all she needs to give her audience an experience of joy, passion, fun and…let me say it…love” — Travis Rogers, Jr. aka The Jazz Owl, Jazz Times

“She did it, LaVon Hardison sang her way to the top at the 12th annual Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalist Audition last night at Jazz Alley. Using her soulful, R&B style, Hardison remade the standards and asserted her own strong, yet breezy personality for such a memorable impression that judges couldn’t help but hand her the win in the adult division.” — Examiner.com

“Cover albums like this are great jumping off points for anyone looking to get into Jazz music without going full bore and trying to understand the kaleidoscope of sounds the genre sometimes has to offer. If you’re like me, a film lover and soundtrack fan, you’re going to find yourself connecting with the album easily. If you’re not, Hardison and company offer up a potpourri of styles on the album that should grab your attention and bring you in from start to finish.” — AJ Garcia, Shakefire (review link)

“Displaying a natural ease for the smooth jazz palette, vocalist LaVon Hardison sounds comfortable delivering a repertoire that bridges classic pop with sunny blues and swing-tinted soul. Her third release Come Together vibrates a melodic sonorous that massages the listener’s aural senses, pleasing a wide range of audiences. Passionate and focused, Hardison takes command of her performance demonstrating a style that is irrefutably all her own.” — Susan Frances, AXS (review link)

“…LaVon Hardison has a startlingly clear, sweet voice, resembling not just a little Ella Fitzgerald’s. She’s right in Ella’s bag on much of Choices, but she’s got the versatility to try a few other directions as well, making this a consistently stimulating CD. … Through it all her pure tone and crisp but warm diction never wavers and it all sounds easy. … Choices is a great record!” — Tom Peterson, Victory Review

“Choices is a breath of fresh air in a climate of ho-hum vocal albums. LaVon’s voice and the arrangements of these well-known tunes makes each track a new journey with an old friend. Of particular note are “It’s Alright With Me,” and “Shop Around” (I NEVER thought I’d want to hear that again after Toni Tenneile’s syrupy version…) There are no low points on this release- just a great time.” — John Ford, Jazz/Blues Director, KAOS-fm

"saucy..." -New York Times

"LaVon’s singing gives us the rare joy of hearing an agile voice in the service of an agile mind … and all of it blessed by a rompin’ good sense of humor. Pure fun, every time!" -Juli Kelen, K.A.O.S. fm

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