Laurie Antonioli

Laurie Antonioli (born March 9, 1958) is an American jazz singer and producer. Formerly a professor at University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz, in 2014 she is the Chair of the Vocal Department at the California Jazz Conservatory.

Antonioli was born in Marin County, California. At the age of sixteen she began playing guitar and performing primarily her own original music as well as that of the singer-songwriters of the era. In 1975 she won the "American Songwriters Contest" held for high school students. She studied jazz for two years at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.

After graduation, Antonioli continued composing and performing. In 1980, she toured for eight months with New Orleans saxophonist Pony Poindexter. When Poindexter suffered a stroke, the tour was cut short.

In 1983 she gave birth to a daughter, which limited her touring and performing. Two years later she signed with Catero Records. Her first album was the "live to 2-track" Soul Eyes, with the title song composed by Mal Waldron. She was accompanied by pianist George Cables; the album included jazz standards, original lyrics, and songs by Larry Gelb, and was produced by Bob Parlocha.

After a hiatus from music, she settled in Vienna from 2002–2006 and began recording again. Her album Foreign Affair, released on Nabel Records, was a Balkan jazz hybrid recorded in Slovenia with musicians from Serbia, Albania, Germany, and the U. S. It was well received in Europe. Her next release was The Duo Session, also on Nabel, with pianist Richie Beirach. She wrote lyrics to Beirach's compositions and to some Miles Davis tunes and free improvisational pieces. This recording was also well received, but like Foreign Affair was known primarily to European audiences.

Antonioli worked as the Professor of the Vocal Department at KUG University's Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria from 2002–2006. and performing in Europe, Antonioli was offered a position at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, California as the school's director.

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