Philanthropy Technology & The Performing Arts

San Francisco Bay Area native Lisa Baney has been singing almost as long as she's been making sounds. Raised in a family infused with music (her grandfather was an opera singer; her uncle played stride piano in bars during WWII), she learned to sing harmony at age five with her girl cousins, sitting in the back of her uncle's Plymouth on road trips
as he taught them old Navy songs in four parts. In high school she sang in the after-school vocal jazz ensemble, and she was 18 when she had her first paying gig, singing the Stephen Stills part in a Crosby, Stills and Nash copy band. She put together her first jazz band when she was 20 doing club gigs in San Francisco, playing at various venues for several years.

It became clear, however, that jazz offered little in the way of monetary reward. And so Lisa started singing pop, rock and r&b to pay the rent, performing at venues throughout the U.S. and Europe. She's shared the stage with such entertainment industry luminaries as Vicki Lawrence, Bo Diddley, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, and Luci Arnaz, among others.

Despite her success singing contemporary styles, jazz has always been home for Lisa,
the place where she is best able to explore who she is musically and to evolve as a singer.
This CD release marks a new era for her as a mature jazz vocalist, exploring, expanding,
and once again performing in jazz clubs around the San Francisco Bay Area.

"...Baney has that special kind of jazz voice
that reflects emotional insight
and sensitivity, a voice
that shares the intimate feeling
of the song in such a way
which makes each performance
memorable."

--Lee Prosser, Jazzreview.com