Recordings

Follow Leslie & Gerard for new music releases.

Leslie Lewis with the Gerard Hagen Trio

Leslie Lewis is all a good jazz singer should be. Her beautiful tone and classy phrasing evoke the sound of the classic jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.” - Wilbert Sostre

— Jazz Times Magazine

Keeper Of The Flame

Leslie Lewis with Gerard Hagen Trio

"Keeper Of The Flame" is Leslie Lewis' follow up recording to "Of Two Minds" 2008. It is a vocal jazz recording of (mostly) Brazilian music with a few standards done (again mostly) in a Brazilian style. The music has those things that make it feel like Jazz! Leslie has taken these songs and put her imprint on them with the support of the Gerard
"Keeper Of The Flame" is Leslie Lewis' follow up recording to "Of Two Minds" 2008. It is a vocal jazz recording of (mostly) Brazilian music with a few standards done (again mostly) in a Brazilian style. The music has those things that make it feel like Jazz! Leslie has taken these songs and put her imprint on them with the support of the Gerard Hagen Trio (Gerard Hagen piano, Domenic Genova bass, Jerry Kalaf drums) and guest artist Gary Foster (saxophone/flute). Some of the composers represented are Antonio Carlos Jobim, Richard Rodgers, Mark Levine, Ivan Lins, and Kurt Weill. The music has a rhythmic energy that propels these songs in an engaging and dynamic fashion.
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Vocalist Leslie Lewis has a beautifully perfect alto voice for singing jazz. By tone alone, she can claim a well deserved corner of the jazz vocal map for herself.” - C. Michael Bailey

— All About Jazz

Midnight Sun

Leslie Lewis with Gerard Hagen Trio

Following “Of Two Minds” 2008 and “Keeper Of The Flame” 2010, “Midnight Sun” is the third release by jazz vocalist Leslie Lewis and the Gerard Hagen Trio (Gerard Hagen piano, Domenic Genova bass, Jerry Kalaf drums) on the Surf Cove Jazz label. Like their previous recordings, “Midnight Sun” features guest artists, in this case trombonist Joey
Following “Of Two Minds” 2008 and “Keeper Of The Flame” 2010, “Midnight Sun” is the third release by jazz vocalist Leslie Lewis and the Gerard Hagen Trio (Gerard Hagen piano, Domenic Genova bass, Jerry Kalaf drums) on the Surf Cove Jazz label. Like their previous recordings, “Midnight Sun” features guest artists, in this case trombonist Joey Sellers and tenor saxophonist Chuck Manning. GERARD: “Both Joey and Chuck are willing to jump into any musical situation and they are fearless improvisors. Since Leslie approaches her repertoire with new eyes on every performance, they are perfect collaborators for her.”

One of the aspects of this music is space used in the way Leslie phrases the melodies. GERARD:“Leslie and I played the tunes a few times and as she sang the way she felt them I would notate what she sang. This is how we came up with the treatment for the melodies.” “Midnight Sun” uses 5 bar phrases and “It’s Alright With Me” alternates between meters of 4/4 and 3/4 time. Leslie makes these phrases sound natural, as though this is the way these melodies have always been sung.

At the beginning of 2011 Gerard added Joey and Chuck as guest artists on a monthly job his trio had with Leslie. At each performance they learned more about the sound of the group and eventually Gerard began writing arrangements that featured Leslie with the two horns. These arrangements became the repertoire for “Midnight Sun”. GERARD: “I had always loved the combined sound of tenor sax and trombone. The register of those instruments fits well with Leslie’s voice. Only after we had performed the music live a few times and then recorded it did it dawn on me that Leslie had chosen a repertoire of songs about love in all it’s varied states. I don’t what, if anything, that means!”
The repertoire covers the American song book from George Gershwin and Cole Porter to Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, all with Leslie’s trademark swinging rhythm and colorful voice.
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This is no demo; it is a session that deserves national exposure... Lewis herself handles the vocals with admirable aplomb, displaying firm intonation and sure-footed time.” - Peter Westbrook

— Cadence Magazine

Of Two Minds

Leslie Lewis with Gerard Hagen Trio

The debut recording for Leslie & Gerard. Made Los Angeles in 2008 and licensed to SSJ Records for release in Japan in 2011.
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"Funky Ella" Band