Search - Sofia Laiti :: You Don't Know Me

"Sofia Laiti is an experienced singer with a striking voice that she puts to sensuous use as an alluring jazz artist. Laiti sings with a deep understanding of the lyrics and conveys innermost emotion.

In an age of cookie-cutter jazz singers, Sofia Laiti is utterly distinctive. Her voice ? at once husky and silken, intimate and exotic ? has won her the praise of critics, the affection of audiences, and the collaboration of such musicians as John Hicks, Craig Handy, John Stubblefield, James Weidman, Ray Drummond, and Houston Person. Her return to the stage in 2002 after six years of full-time motherhood has been welcomed by fans eager to hear the next turn in this extraordinary jazz odyssey.

Born in Utsjoki, Finland ? a small town in Lapland, north of the artic circle ? Sofia began singing as soon as she could talk. As a teenager she acquired a solid classical training at the Music Conservatory of Kuopio, but soon came under the spell of jazz. Billie Holiday?s depth and directness, Sarah Vaughan?s deliquescene, Frank Sinatra?s phrasing, Nat King Cole?s clean articulation, even Edith Piaf?s raw exposure of love and pain ? all these influences helped shape Sofia?s very personal style.

Moving to Helsinki in 1981, Sofia collaborated with such noted musicians as composer Lauri Kivikataja, who has written a number of songs especially for her. In 1984, when her trio began making the circuit of Helsinki?s leading nightclubs, she was introduced as a "rising star" to an international audience at the Pori Jazz Festival. Performances at other major festivals and on Finnish radio and television soon followed.

In 1991 ? reversing the trend of Scandinavian-bound jazzmen like Dexter Gordon ? Sofia moved to New York, aided by a grant from the State Music Council of Finland. She has since led ensembles at such venues as Birdland, the Village Gate, Visiones, Yardbird, The Squire, La Cava, The West End Café, Tavern on the Green, and the Cornelia Street Café, as well as at Trumpets in New Jersey, Blues Alley in Washington, D.C.

Her debut album, "Manhattan Memories", was recorded in New York in 1989 for Finnish Columbia Records. Saxophonist Scott Robinson, pianist Larry Ham, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Klaus Suonsaari join her in a program divided between compositions by Kivikataja and standards on which Sofia puts her inimitable stamp.

In 1994 she released her U.S. debut recording, "Inspira", on the Midnight Sun Music label. Backed by John Hicks on piano, Craig Handy on tenor sax, Essiet Essiet on bass and Cecil Brooks III on drums, her vocalism was praised as "powerful" by Cadence and "charismatic" by Jazziz.

Sofia?s 1996 album "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set" produced by Houston Person, featured Person on tenor sax, James Weidman on piano, Essiet Essiet on bass and Mark Johnson on drums. Praising the "deep lilt of her voice" and her "dark, exotic sound" Cadence declared: "Sofia Laiti is maturing into a classic jazzpop chanteuse." The CD marked the beginning of the extended maternity leave that has now ? to the delight of jazz fans, including her five-year-old daughter ? come to end.

While critics cite the "smokiness," "lushness," and "sultry glow" of her voice and the "smoothness" and "elasticity" of her phrasing. Sofia herself has best captured the secret of her appeal: "I naturally use my whole heart and soul when I sing. I think an audience loves to hear it ? the communication of feeling through song."