Ava Lemert
Ava Lemert, female vocalist, saxophonist and songwriter was born in Covina, California. She was surrounded by music as a child and began making music as a toddler. She began her musical education in the 4th grade by singing in the School choir, but wanted badly to start playing an instrument and the summer before 5th grade, her father, bought Ava a clarinet. She was fascinated with the saxophone from her parents’ music collection, but was encouraged to start on the clarinet. Before she could read music, Ava was belting out songs by ear and loved to make music with her sisters, both also very musically inclined. While in 5th grade, Ava entered a song composed on the guitar to a State-wide contest, which she wrote sheet music for and recorded herself with her tape-recorder at home. Ava received an honorable mention for her song and the bug to create music had bitten! By high school, Ava was writing poetry and while very uncomfortable with her singing voice, she began singing to her music.
Ava’s influences are many, but her inspiration first sprang from her life-long love of the Beatles. Ava’s love of the saxophone began while still a toddler by listening to the great tenor saxophonist Herb Hardesty on Fats Domino tracks and the vocal/tenor sax powerhouse Jr. Walker. Ava recalls that her sister had David Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’ and as a 4 year old used to rock on the rocking horse to David Sanborn‘s searing sax solo on the track. Ava’s supple vocals are influenced by a wide range of artists such as Gladys Knight, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James, Peggy Lee, Mavis Staples, Dinah Washington, Tina Turner, Deborah Harry, Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield and the Superwoman, Alicia Keys.
What has resulted from Ava’s many musical loves is a variety of style and execution that is always passionate. Ava’s expressive music is powerful at times, vulnerable at others and a tasty blend of jazz, R&B, and soul. Because she is able to soar with her voice then delight with her saxophone play she has an immense presence as a performer with a warm personality and humility that is very endearing.
Recently Ava’s music has been on JazzLynx, OzCat Radio, SmoothJazzExpressions and many other internet radio stations. Her shows have been promoted on KSSJ 94.7 in Sacramento, as well. Ava has been interviewed on numerous programs, including Talking Smooth Jazz (twice), Jamz-Fusion where she performed live in the studio of OzCat Radio in Vallejo, CA. One of the most exhiliarating performances for Ava so far was the chance to live out a dream to perform The National Anthem for a major sporting event. In November 2009, she auditioned and got to do just that for the NBA Kings. Since then she has also been a musical guest on Sacramento’s ABC morning television show “Sacramento and Company” and a contestant in San Francisco for “America’s Got Talent” on NBC in 2011. She was a finalist in the 1st Annual Artists in Music Awards held in Hollywood, CA on February 2012.
Ava’s music projects have been graced by international recording artists such as Roger Smith (Tower of Power), Dante “Taz” Roberson (Najee), Cam Perridge (Tony Toni Tone’), James Davis (Winans Family), and Derrick Hall (Edwin Hawkins). Ava Lemert’s own music is a variety-packed blend of jazz, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, contemporary R&B, latin jazz, funk and smoldering soul that reminds one of the classics of the 1970′s era. The musical performances of all these musicians with their impressive musical pedigrees added with Ava’s fiery vocals and saxophones makes a stellar self-produced musical product, worthy of airplay across the globe. Ava’s music is available on Amazon.com, iTunes and other online music retailers online as well as on her website at http://www.AvaLemert.com
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