Lisa Sokolov

Rhizome DC, Transparent Productions, and DC Jazz Festival present: Lisa Sokolov–vocals/piano “Lisa Sokolov delves into the magical possibilities of the voice and the beauty and mystery of words.” (All About Jazz) “…exceptional, expressive, dramatic, ecstatic, masterful, stunning, and life affirming” (Downbeat) Lisa Sokolov is a frontline jazz vocalist, improviser, and composer. Based in New York, she began her studies as a classical pianist and singer. Intrigued with the music of John Coltrane and his bassist Jimmy Garrison, she furthered her musical education at Vermont’s Bennington College, studying with trumpeter Bill Dixon, reedist Jimmy Lyons, drummer Milford Graves, as well as composers Vivian Fine and Louis Calabro. She has worked with many notable improvisers, including Cecil Taylor and Butch Morris, and continues to collaborate with bassist William Parker. Many have heard her over the years as the voice of Bobby Hill’s opening radio theme, lovely rendering Oscar & Hammerstien’s “Oh’, What a Beautiful Mornin”. Sokolov is also an acknowledged pioneer in the field of Music Therapy, and the originator of the method of Embodied VoiceWork, which she teaches as an Arts Professor at New York University. She has recorded on Soul Note, AUM Fidelity, Boxholder, Between the Lines, and Laughing Horse records.