Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Litsa Jane Davies was born on June 27, 1963 in Hampshire, England. Growing up in Poole, Dorset, she attended Harry Harbin school where her music teacher recognized her vocal talent. At 14 she was singing with him on jazz gigs and appeared locally on television in 1977. By 1979 she was gigging with pianist Mike Hatchard and the following year began a six-year stint with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. While with NYJO she sang on three albums, notably Why Don’t They Write Songs Like This Anymore?, which featured her throughout.
She performs with her own quintet and has toured with the European Jazz Orchestra. She has sung on radio with the BBC Big Band, the bands Night Owls and Bone Structure as well as her own group. During the early and mid-80s Litsa played festivals with her quintet, and sang with the Burch Trio and saxophonist Iain Ballamy. The following year she joined the cast of the London West End musical Chess at the Prince Edward Theatre going on to play the lead until the show closed in 1989. She continued to sing on BBC radio.
In 1990 Davies concentrated on raising her children while singing backup for Tom Jones and performing with various bands including the Ian Pearce Big Band, the Ross Mitchell Dance Orchestra and the Mark Graham Dance Band. By 1995 she reappeared with a week-long engagement at Ronnie Scott’s club.
Vocalist Litsa Davies, gifted with fine interpretative skills and intelligent phrasing, continues to deliver ballads and up-tempo songs with swing.
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