Laura Coyle, Atlanta Jazz vocalist

The first time I met Laura Coyle, we were neighbors. A bunch of artists and creative freelancers lived in a converted Warehouse by the tracks in Atlanta. It was 1995, we were in our 20's and we were going to reinvent the world. I had a little ad shop and I asked Laura to illustrate the ads I wrote. She had this encyclopedic knowledge of the Arts and could nail pretty much any genre or era I needed. It was great fun to hang at her studio and listen to all her crazy Jazz records and hear stories of art school and Italy. Miles, Dexter, Coltrane, Monk, Ella, she was such a purist. While the rest of us dabbled in the more age appropriate pop of Hooty or Foo Fighters, Laura was unwavering.

The second time I cross paths with Laura Coyle, we're both living in NYC. She's moved up in her career, so have I. We're both gainfully employed. It's scary. She has a side job assisting renown jazz photographer Jimmy Katz. Shooting Joe Henderson, Diane Reeves, Wayne Shorter, James Moody! She's beside herself. She's hanging out at the Village Vanguard at night and I see now that it wasn't a passing fling, this crazy Jazz. She's got the fever.

Years later, we've both answered the call of the South and return to our roots in Atlanta. I own a restaurant and Laura has gotten ever busier with her art...but she talks of a trio, come see us, she says.

You sing? I ask.

Well, a little.

This isn't my first run in with her humility. She'll say she "can draw" too. But I figure, her REAL talent is in illustration. Perhaps she is just an OK singer. A hobbyist. A passionate outsider. A groupie. But when I actually hear her...I see it's more than just understatement. She opens up and lets you have it. You realize that the same passion that fuels her hands is stoking the vocal fire as well.

Contained in this porcelain boned frame, this teeny red head has pipes! She's a sleeper, I like to say. She's got a pedigree that seems to come out of nowhere. The pitch perfect clarity will remind some of Ella and the tunes she favors are ripe for ruminating. Her dedication to the study of the craft makes her hands down, one of the bigger nerds I know. She's an enthusiastic student of theory, piano and voice. Her mentor is sought after drummer Bernard Linnette, which could explain her gift for percussive vocalization, and when he says she's got "chops"...all is well in her world.

Currently she sings with the Atlanta Jazz Chorus under the direction of Dwight Andrews, and with Bernard Linnette's trio at the Waverly Hotel and other dates around town. She's been honored to perform with greats like Audrey Shakir and Johnny O'Neal and the list keeps growing. I'm continually amazed at her boundless talents, and her honorable treatment of the music. It's a don't miss performance, and I'm lucky to have her in my circle of friends after all these years. Her ability to do what she really loves is an inspiration.

---Michele Niesen
chef
writer
bon vivant
budding cougar
knower of talent
2007