Sarah DeLeo is a contemporary jazz vocalist noted for ballads and music with a mellow "Peggy Lee vibe." She has been cited in "The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide" by Scott Yanow, "The New Face of Jazz" by Cicily Janus, and the upcoming ninth edition of the "Penguin Guide to Jazz". In October 2005 Sarah released her debut CD, "The Nearness of You", which garnered critical acclaim and introduced Sarah's work to both national and international audiences. Her follow up to that release is 2009's "I'm In Heaven Tonight", another inspired collection of songs that combines the old and the new. In March 2010 Sarah was selected to compete in WNYC's Battle of the Boroughs: Manhattan Throwdown. In July 2010 she performed at the Iridium Jazz Club as part of the club's first annual Jazz Vocalist Festival. Sarah has been compared to many legendary singers including Shirley Horn, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Julie London, and Sarah Vaughan. She has lit up the crowd with her natural charm and grace at venues such as Cornelia Street Café, Detour, and Rockwood Music Hall. Audiences are enraptured by her unique voice (once referred to as her "calling card"), her exquisite phrasing, and her heartfelt interpretations of ballads, which have been described as "beyond her years". Simply put, her sumptuous, satiny sound and crystal clear diction turn every performance, whether live or on disc, into an intimate and moving affair. One hears her singing and is swept away to another time, and yet her powerful presence as a musical storyteller is thoroughly in the here and now: No matter the song, she delivers each lyric in such a personal way that the listener feels as if they are hearing their own stories. Her tireless exploration of many different styles of music yields fascinating results when it comes to song choices and arrangements, and her inventive melodic improvisation makes every restatement of a tune’s melody thoroughly engaging – nothing’s ever the same twice. For a full bio, please visit: http://www.sarahdeleo.com/bio.html Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.