Biography
An American jazz vocalist of note now residing in the Netherlands, Leah Kline draws from a broad spectrum of styles that extend from classic straight-ahead jazz to her own groove-driven singer/songwriter compositions. Born in Japan during her father’s military posting there, she spent her formative years in the United States. As a youngster she studied piano, congas, and hand bells. In 1991 she earned a degree in Modern Dance from the North Carolina School of the Arts. For the following four years she worked in the Washington, D.C., region as a dancer, actress, choreographer, and vocalist. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1995, she took on engagements across many different performance contexts. A fall from a balcony left her temporarily incapacitated, yet a six-month USO tour across Europe ultimately persuaded her to focus on jazz singing.
She soon integrated into the Los Angeles jazz scene, occasionally enlisting Tamir Hendelman or John Rangel on piano. After engagements aboard Seabourn Cruise Lines and appearances in productions throughout the Far East, she settled in Amsterdam in 2000. In the years since, Kline has appeared in the Irving Berlin–inspired musical There’s No Business Like Show Business, taken part in a tribute to Ann Burton, performed in 42nd Street and Musicals in Ahoy, and worked as a jazz singer across Holland, Germany, and France. She has also co-hosted a radio program, contributed articles, and instructed others in performance technique, dance, and yoga. To date she has issued two recordings: the standards collection Playground on the Stemra label and Juzz Flirtin on Theatrics Productions, for which she supplied original lyrics to pianist Dirk Balthaus’s compositions.
She soon integrated into the Los Angeles jazz scene, occasionally enlisting Tamir Hendelman or John Rangel on piano. After engagements aboard Seabourn Cruise Lines and appearances in productions throughout the Far East, she settled in Amsterdam in 2000. In the years since, Kline has appeared in the Irving Berlin–inspired musical There’s No Business Like Show Business, taken part in a tribute to Ann Burton, performed in 42nd Street and Musicals in Ahoy, and worked as a jazz singer across Holland, Germany, and France. She has also co-hosted a radio program, contributed articles, and instructed others in performance technique, dance, and yoga. To date she has issued two recordings: the standards collection Playground on the Stemra label and Juzz Flirtin on Theatrics Productions, for which she supplied original lyrics to pianist Dirk Balthaus’s compositions.
Albums
