About Carri Bella, Jazz Vocalist

Carri Bella’s exquisite voice calls to mind the whimsy of Annie Ross in one moment and the sultry stylings of Julie London in the next.  While much of her repertoire is comprised of standards from the Great American Songbook, she often opts for the quirkier side of Cole Porter or the Mancini tune that is rarely sung.

 

Carri’s passion for story-telling with a twist also leads her to explore instrumental tunes and improvised solos with words added by clever lyricists. This is referred to as "vocalese." In fact, she has penned a few vocalese lyrics herself. 

 

The vocalese on her CD, Wicked Muse, include Stolen Moments with Carri's original lyrics set to extended improvised solos by trumpet player Freddie Hubbard and tenor sax player (and composer), Oliver Nelson. Carri also wrote lyrics for the verses of Speak No Evil, an instrumental song by saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Jackie has vocalese and verse lyrics by Annie Ross, set to a Wardell Grey instrumental tune.

 

You might catch Carri performing at a venue in the Pacific Northwest or at a private event with some of the area’s top jazz instrumentalists.  She performs in small ensembles with just guitar or piano as well as in larger groups, adding bass, drums and more depending upon what the scene calls for.