A celebration of new music featuring tunes from Anna Laura Quinn's freshly released sophomore album Open The Door (2022) as well as originals and arrangements written by Justin Ouellet. Quinn and Ouellet will be joined by a stellar lineup of seasoned Bay Area artists: Joe Kyle Jr. (Bass), Rob Reich (accordion, Piano), Marina Escala (dancer), Marlon Aldana (drums), and Claire Phillips( flute, Saxophone).
https://www.annalauraquinn.com
https://www.justinouellet.com
New Orleans-based vocalist Anna Laura Quinn is gaining notice for her particular blend of contemporary jazz, well-loved tunes from the American Songbook, French and Brazilian music, and more, all delivered with style, sensitivity, emotional power, and a joie de vivre that recalls the charm and mystique of a bygone era.
A recent graduate of the Jazz Studies masters program at the University of New Orleans, Anna made her debut appearance at the 50th annual New Orleans Jazz Fest with the UNO Jazz All-Stars in 2019. While at UNO, she performed alongside such internationally renowned guest artists as Terence Blanchard, Kurt Elling, Ellis Marsalis, and the legendary Dr. Lonnie Smith, to name a few. Her other appearances in New Orleans have been at such venerable jazz venues as Snug Harbor and Dos Jefes.
In 2018 she released her debut EP, I Feel the Sudden Urge to Sing!, and her full length album Open the Door follows in 2022, featuring nine original arrangements that knit together a variety of the influences that she has held dear on her musical trajectory.
2019's "Best Jazz Instrumentalist" (San Francisco Classical Voice Best of the Bay), Justin Ouellet has garnered a reputation as a fearless performer and dedicated educator. In addition to cultivating an accomplished career as a classical musician on both violin and viola, Ouellet moves effortlessly between a multitude of genres and styles such as Jazz, R&B, Funk, Blues, Hip-Hop, Rock, Latin, and Jazz Manouche. Ouellet collaborates with an array of artists including Patrick Anseth, Kev Choice, Dame Drummer, Dave Ellis, Aaron Germain, Erik Jakebson, Jennifer Johns, Josh Jones, Cava Menzies, Rob Reich, Geechi Taylor and Howard Wiley, and has appeared with notable musicians such as Air Traffic Controller, Mani Draper, Mark Erelli, Martin Luther McCoy, Meernaa, Jónsi and Alex Somers, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and iZion. He has performed jazz and cross-over repertoire at celebrated venues including Yoshi's, Davies Symphony Hall, Grace Cathedral, Noe Valley Chamber Music, San Jose Jazz and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and is a regularly featured artist with the Kev Choice Ensemble, d'PaJo & Anna Laura Quinn. As a classical orchestral and chamber musician, Ouellet has appeared throughout the United States in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and Philadelphia Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. He has toured internationally to Austria, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico and Switzerland, and has played under the batons of conductors such as multi-Emmy Award-winning Gerard Schwarz, Grammy Award-winning John McLaughlin Williams, Susan McMane and Arnie Roth. He is a recipient of the 2018-19 Academy of Gospel Music Award for his achievement in arts education as Co-director of Orchestral & Chamber Music Studies during his tenure at Oakland School for the Arts. His recent album release "I'll See You There", the d'PaJo Sessions was released November, 2021 and can be heard digitally on all streaming platforms.