Biography
Born Angelina Iapaolo, Lullaby Baxter selected the second half of her stage name after viewing Billy Wilder’s 1960 film The Apartment. While working as a waitress in Montreal in 1997, she was invited onstage for an impromptu performance. Although she had participated in the arts for most of her life, Baxter had not sung publicly since elementary school; audience praise and suggestions that she compose original material prompted her to treat music as a serious pursuit and begin appearing at local venues. Following one such appearance, the proprietor of an independent label proposed recording a complimentary demo, a copy of which reached Atlantic producer Yves Beauvais and led to her immediate signing in 1998.
In 2000 she issued her debut, Capable Egg, credited to the Lullaby Baxter Trio—an ensemble that comprised lyricist Lutwidge Sedgwick together with the Oranj Symphonette, whose personnel included cellist/bassist Matt Brubeck, guitarist Joe Gore, drummer Scott Amendola, multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney, and organist Pete Scaturro. The album presented a set of songs that were at once childlike and perceptive, their impact heightened by Baxter’s smoky, jazz-tinged alto. After pausing her career to raise a son, pursue writing, and refine her musical approach, she delivered a second collection, Garden Cities of To-morrow—its title drawn from Ebenezer Howard’s 1902 book—on the Boompa label in 2006.
In 2000 she issued her debut, Capable Egg, credited to the Lullaby Baxter Trio—an ensemble that comprised lyricist Lutwidge Sedgwick together with the Oranj Symphonette, whose personnel included cellist/bassist Matt Brubeck, guitarist Joe Gore, drummer Scott Amendola, multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney, and organist Pete Scaturro. The album presented a set of songs that were at once childlike and perceptive, their impact heightened by Baxter’s smoky, jazz-tinged alto. After pausing her career to raise a son, pursue writing, and refine her musical approach, she delivered a second collection, Garden Cities of To-morrow—its title drawn from Ebenezer Howard’s 1902 book—on the Boompa label in 2006.
Albums