Biography

With her thick, low alto tone and heavy swing rhythm, Aubrey Parasolle’s voice emotes a quality akin to jazz singers who have been singing for decades. However, once one sees her edgy hair, petite stature, and hears her thick Jersey accent, they know that this 27 year-old is not the average jazz performer.

“Jazz, by most standards, is an older genre of music, and I have definitely been inspired by jazz artists of the past,” Aubrey said. “But I think my youth and vitality add a modern edge to the music. I approach it with a different background, and bring fresh interpretations to the classic standards. My knowledge in styles from swing to Brazilian helps to give even the most standard of tunes a new and fresh outlook. I think that my personality and vivacity for the music shows through in my performance.”

Though young in age, Aubrey is hardly an amateur to performing and to jazz. Her family raised Aubrey on a steady diet of jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, and Clifford Brown. Those complex rhythms and harmonies implanted themselves in Aubrey’s ear and before long, she was taking jazz voice lessons and participating in several high school choirs and musicals. In her four years at Roxbury High School, Aubrey performed in the elite jazz choir, honor choir, madrigal ensemble, and was selected for regional and all-state choirs, as well as snatching the lead, Adelaide, in Guys and Dolls. At Roxbury, she was also given the opportunity to take private lessons and receive clinics from New York Voices members, Kim Nazarian and Darmon Meader.

Those successes in high school brought her to the University of Miami Vocal Jazz program, where she received a half-tuition scholarship to study under noted professors such as Larry Lapin, Whit Sidener, and Kevin Mahogany. While in Miami, Aubrey snagged steady jazz gigs at Books & Books and at Café Luna and continued to work in New Jersey during school breaks, performing at Patricia's in Randolph, Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, Bruschetta’s in Fairfield, Cecil’s Jazz Club in West Orange, and Ken's Trackside Restaurant with bands such as City Rhythm, The Gentle Winds Orchestra, and The Tony Nervine Big Band.

“I love jazz because it is the musical style that can be interpreted most freely,” Aubrey said. “In classical music as well as theater, often interpretation of a song is limited to what can fit into the music or what the composer specified to be done. In jazz anything goes! New arrangements, tunes, and styles are coming out all the time and it is how you put your spin on the standards that makes you unique. That freedom for expression and experimentation is what makes jazz the ever changing and always growing art form that it is.”

In the past 5 years, Aubrey has continued performing in the area, while pressing her two albums, "Alone Together" and “No Moon At All”, with her duo, trio, quartet and quintet. She has been and can be seen at Trumpets Jazz Club in Montclair, the Crossroads in Garwood, The Priory in Newark, Wine in the Woods in West Milford, and the Gristmill Café in Andover. In the summer months she can be seen at the Netcong Park Concert Series, the Mt. Olive Park Concert Series, and The Roxbury Arts Alliance Concert Series by the Lake.

In addition to promoting her own group, Aubrey has been and still is the lead singer for the 18 piece Big Band based out of Westfield NJ, known as the Full Count Big Band. (www.fullcountbigband.com) Aubrey has sung with them and led the vocal portion of the band in weddings, concerts, outdoor settings, libraries, street fairs and even at The Sweet Sounds Jazz Festival in Westfield NJ. She has created and performed a tribute show to the music and life of Nat King Cole with both the big band and her small group and continues to create shows dedicated to the artists who inspire her and the music she loves.

Articles have been written about her in numerous papers including the Daily Record, the Star Ledger, the Roxbury Register, and the Montclair Times. She also has performed live on WNTI radio out of Centenary College.

“My biggest goal is just to be successful and respected within the jazz community,” Aubrey said. “True fame may elude me, as it does for most musicians, but I couldn’t fathom my life without performing. Music is such an emotional escape for me, and I love being on stage to watch the faces of my audience. It’s amazing to see how the music I make affects them as much as it affects me.”