Originally from Toronto Canada, Anna-Lisa Kirby (AK) moved to New York in the fall of 1990 to immerse herself in the world of Jazz. She entered the prestigious Manhattan School of Music to pursue her degree in Jazz Performance. But New York also offered a unique form of Jazz education to her on the bandstand! She became a fixture at such legendary hangs as Augies, Cleo's Needle, Smalls, The Iridium, Dean Street Café and Birdland, performing with her own ensemble at Metronome, Sign of the Dove, Match, The Soul Café and The Jazz Standard.
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Originally from Toronto Canada, Anna-Lisa Kirby (AK) moved to New York in the fall of 1990 to immerse herself in the world of Jazz. She entered the prestigious Manhattan School of Music to pursue her degree in Jazz Performance. But New York also offered a unique form of Jazz education to her on the bandstand! She became a fixture at such legendary hangs as Augies, Cleo's Needle, Smalls, The Iridium, Dean Street Café and Birdland, performing with her own ensemble at Metronome, Sign of the Dove, Match, The Soul Café and The Jazz Standard. In 1996, AK recorded EP Pretty Blue with jazz giants: pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Steve Kirby, drummer Alvester Garnett, and alto sax player, Myron Walden. Kirby and Garnett were featured on Anna-Lisa's first solo recording venture, Shades of Blue on NJR Recordings in 1997, which also featured Xavier Davis. AK was the featured vocalist with the New York City based swing band: Andy Farber and His Swing Mavens, performing at New York venues Swing 46, Windows on The World, Lincoln Center's Midsummer Nights Swing, Makor, Irving Plaza and Pier 25.
On the 2001 release, Bluesectomy, legendary jazz vocal artist Jon Hendricks said of her interpretation of Sometimes Im Happy: "she executes effortlessly every singers nightmare: a no-bar modulation, into a well improvised and second chorus." http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/afswingmavens AK has performed clubs and conert halls in Italy, Denmark, Slovakia and Turkey, performing with some of Europes foremost jazz musicians including Turkish pianist Kerem Gorsev, Italian pianist Antonio Ciacca and Danish pianist Carsten Dahl, Danish bassist Mads Vinding, Danish drummer Alex Riel and Slovakian drummer Dodo Sosoka. Anna-Lisa Kirby (AK) moved to Winnipeg, Canada from New York City, with her family in 2003 after her husband, Steve Kirby, accepted the position of Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba. She has since taken on the position of Jazz Vocal Instructor and Jazz Program Coordinator. http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/music/programs/JazzStudies.html
For 8 consecutive years AK has served as the Jazz vocal instructor at the University of Manitoba Summer Jazz Camp which features a 6 day intensive vocalist w/ rhythm section workshop that focuses on jazz repertoire, vocal phrasing, improvisation and the art of working and communicating with a rhythm section. http://umanitoba.ca/summer/jazz/ Performing continues to be paramount in AK's career. Her working band consists of the top notch, world class U of M Jazz faculty: saxophonist Jimmy Greene, trumpeter Derrick Gardner, bassist Steve Kirby, pianist Will Bonness and Guitarist Laurent Roy. She is fortunate to be constantly performing at very high level venues and with very high level ensembles including TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival, The Winnipeg Art Gallery, The Berney Theatre, The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, The Oceanic Jazz Orchestra and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. She is featured on the 2008 CD release Wicked Grin, by Laurent Roy and Steve Kirby which also features Grammy nominated Jazz artist Stefon Harris and the phenomenal Terreon Gully on Drums. AK also performs on the recently recorded, yet untitled and soon to be released, U of M Jazz Faculty CD. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/roykirby
She is garnering acclaim for her ground breaking Anna-Lisa Sings Leonard Cohen project and a recording is in the works.
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…shrink me down again
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