BWW Q&A: Laurie Krauz Celebrates Winter Holidays in SETS_V4 at Don't Tell Mama

SETS is a series Daryl Kojak and Laurie Krauz put together looking back over 35 years of their collaboration (Kojak is Krauz's music director). The pair is in residence at Don't Tell Mama in NYC. Each show is completely different. They are researching tunes they've done over the years including many tunes they haven't done in decades. Krauz says, "We are having a blast and audiences are truly coming along for the ride."

Laurie Krauz dazzles audiences with her award-winning vocals and powerful emotional range – an entertainer who fuses jazz, blues, theatre and R&B into a seamless, mesmerizing genre all her own. Named one of the top 500 jazz vocalists of all time in a book by noted jazz critic Scott Yanow (“The Jazz Singers”), Laurie has played to standing ovations at legendary venues such as JVC Jazz Festival, Iridium, B.B. King’s Blues Club and The Blue Note. She is a three-time Female Jazz Vocalist “MAC Award” winner and a two-time “Back Stage Bistro Award” winner … the second of which (along with Daryl Kojak) is for their theme show “Tapestry Rewoven” – a jazz/blues re-imagining of the Carole King classic, “Tapestry.” This project is currently in production for release early next year.

We spoke with Krauz about Sets_v4.

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Tell us a little about your upcoming show.

"SETS_v4 the Holidays" is our fourth round of reaching back over our years of collaboration and bringing in things we've loved. This version also means doing some of our fav holiday tunes. VERY excited about that!

What was the process of putting this show together like?

It's rather insane! We're doing this "SETS" series where we are looking back over 35 years of collaboration and, sometimes, bringing back tunes we haven't done in 30+ years. I'm a different human now and often find that years of living means a different viewpoint of what a song is saying to me. It's challenging and tons of fun.

How do you usually celebrate the winter holidays?

Family. Lots of family (I have TEN grand nieces/nephews!). I'm so busy all the time but I really set that aside for family gatherings. It's a blast!

Aside from getting ready for this show, what have you been filling your time with lately?

We (Daryl Kojak and I) are working to get out "Tapestry Rewoven" project released early next year. This has been a true labor of love. We performed the live show a lot over the past 10 or so years and decided to record it (the show won a Bistro Award). This is a reimagining from a jazz/blues sort of perspective of the Carole King classic, "Tapestry." Daryl Kojak has created genius arrangements and it's 9-member band and we are very very excited to release this project.

Can you tell us a little about some of your inspirations as an artist?

Ella Fitzgerald, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Branford Marsalis, Sarah Vaughan and the late GREAT Cassandra Wilson to name just a few!!

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