Vocalist Lauren White Sings of Love's Complexities

VOCALIST LAUREN WHITE SINGS OF LOVE’S COMPLEXITIES

ON HER ECLECTIC 5th ALBUM

MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG

Out March 15, 2024 on Café Pacific Records 

Vocalist LAUREN WHITE likes to sing love songs, but not sentimental, starry-eyed love songs that make your heart go pitter-patter. Rather, she prefers songs that capture the complexities of loving relationships that come with time and maturity. On her newest album, MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG, she chose eleven songs that look at love in all its intricacies and convolutions.

Most of the songs on the album are off the beaten path. Some are written by pop artists like Donald Fagen of Steely Dan fame and Stevie Wonder, while others are jazz tunes written by lesser-known artists like Ron Boustead and Greek composer Mimis Plessas. But she also sings standards by the likes of Bill Evans and Jimmy Dorsey.

MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG is White’s fifth album. It follows her 2021 release, Ever Since the World Ended, about which Making a Scene said, “White brings maturity, sass, style and a natural effervescent charm that proves irresistible.”

White worked once again with her longtime collaborator, pianist QUINN JOHNSON, who arranged all but one song on the album. Johnson was the music director and pianist for Steve Tyrell for 16 years, and he’s worked with many of the top names in jazz and pop. White lives in Los Angeles, a city rife with world-class jazz artists, and she brought on board some of the best in town, including LARRY KOONSE (guitar), KEVIN AXT (bass), TREY HENRY (bass), BRIAN SWARTZ (trumpet),  KATISSE BUCKINGHAM (sax & flute), CHRIS WABICH (drums), DAN SCHNELLE (drums), and RAY BRINKER (drums). She also worked for the first time with producer BARBARA BRIGHTON.

Born and raised in New York, White’s first musical inspiration came from an aunt who was an opera singer, as well as from frequent family outings to Broadway plays. Starting at an early age, she appeared often in musical theater. White attended NYU and afterwards acted in television soap operas, including The Doctors, and How to Survive a Marriage. She performed in off-Broadway shows (Zorba, Guys & Dolls, Company) and understudied on Broadway before becoming a regular on the New York jazz and cabaret circuit. After moving to Los Angeles, she acted in episodic television and theater. Besides being an accomplished singer, White has also found considerable success as a producer on the hit HBO show Homeland. The show ran for eight seasons and wrapped in 2020. A regular at many clubs in Los Angeles, including Catalina Bar & Grill, the legendary Cinegrill, and the Bel Age Hotel, she has also performed at Pangea, the Metropolitan Room, and the Triad in New York City. 

White uses her warm, smoky voice and crystal-clear diction to tell stories with nuance and refinement. As a former actress, an avid reader, and a television producer who is married to a television writer, lyrics are paramount for White. She says, “What I love about jazz is that both lyrically and melodically, it lends itself to subtlety and artfulness. The songs Barbara and I chose for MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG all have an interesting and sly twist on the standard love song fare.”

White opens the album with Donald Fagen’s “I’m Not the Same Without You.” The title makes you think it is a song about pining for a lost love, but White was attracted to it because it says just the opposite. As the lyrics say “Since you've been gone, it's like somebody switched the stars back on, I can see into everybody's heart, and everybody's dreams.”

“I’m Glad There is You” is her nod to the Great American Songbook. Johnson arranged the song as a slow bossa that features a beautiful guitar solo by Koonse. “Unlikely Valentine” is by Ron Boustead, a Los Angeles vocalist and composer. Known for his clever lyrics, the song is about two people who like to play the field and are surprised when they fall in love. The swinging horns give it a big band feel.

The lyrics to “Our Game,” by German trumpeter Till Brönner, have a world weary feel. White was inspired to sing it after hearing Mark Murphy’s version. “Tin Tin Deo” is usually associated with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, but it was co-composed by Gil Fuller and Luciano "Chano" Pozo. Johnson arranged it as a cha-cha and features a hip flute solo by Buckingham.

“Lowercase” is by Joshua Redman with a set of clever lyrics by prolific songwriter and vocalist Mark Winkler. “Vrohoula” features a duet with vocalist and scat master PAUL JOST. The song was written by Mimis Plessas, who has written over 100 songs for movies and television programs.

“Making It Up as We Go Along,” the title tune, was composed by Eddie Arkin with lyrics by the inimitable Lorraine Feather about realizing that we really do not know what we are doing when it comes to love. “I Have a Feeling We’ve Been Here Before,” another nod to the Great American Songbook, is about someone who has experienced heartbreak, but is willing to do it again because it’s always worth a try. “Make Sure You’re Sure” is by Stevie Wonder and was featured in Spike Lee’s movie Jungle Fever. White closes the album with a duet with Johnson on the tender ballad “Turn Out the Stars.”

White has worked in different media, both in front of and behind the camera, on stage, and, of course, fronting bands in recording studios. Storytelling is part of her DNA. Her warmth, maturity, and love of language shine through.



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MAKING IT UP AS WE GO ALONG will be released on March 15, 2024 on Café Pacific Records and will be available at Amazon and on all streaming platforms.

Online:

Laurenwhitejazz.com

Facebook.com/lauren.white.3194

@Lulusees (IG/Twitter)