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Biography:
Loretta King was born in Sydney, Australia, into a family which included a
number of professional jazz musicians, notably among them, English guitarist Ike Isaacs and Australian pianist/composer Mark Isaacs. Loretta's dad, Maurice Saul, was her earliest inspiration, entertaining the community with his charismatic singing, comedy impressions, stride-style piano, accordian and violin performances. With a piano featured in every household, family get-togethers were always in the nature of a jam session, while early memories of Loretta are of a curly headed, uninhibited five-year-old with a huge microphone, singing her signature song, Cry Me a River. Loretta’s professional singing career began in the 1970s, supporting her education at the University of NSW, where she graduated with a B.A. in drama, sociology and philosophy. Her performances included stints on the television show In Melbourne Tonight, national radio and TV commercials, and local club work around Sydney where she augmented her repertoire of standards and Latin jazz with some Motown and pop songs of the day. During this time, she also managed to fit in an ABC FACE concert tour of military bases at home and in Southeast Asia, as well as a singing role in the Universal movie Sidecar Racers, which came with an MCA recording contract. An offer to work in America led to a performance schedule beginning in Las Vegas casinos, such as The Frontier and the Gold Coast, and branching into other casino towns, including Laughlin, Reno and Lake Tahoe. This was followed by offshore performances for the Greek Crown Odyssey cruise liner and gigs spanning the country, from the Sofatel in Beverly Hills to the Waldorf Astoria in NYC, from the Four Seasons in Chicago to the Top 'o the Spray in Palm Beach, Florida (a two week engagement that turned into what seemed like a nine month vacation). From there, Loretta moved to Nashville where she was soon contracted to a four month booking at the Holiday Inn North, a considerable feat in a town where only a select few, other than headliners, manage to work. After a bunch of years, having travelled to some forty states in the U.S., performing in most of them and enjoying the sights and many new friendships along the way, Loretta made the decision to settle in L.A. and concentrate on the musical genre she grew up with and still finds most challenging--the cool vocal jazz of an earlier generation. Loretta's vocal jazz CD Love is a Bridge was recorded at Chick Corea's Madhatter Studio, with the assistance of some of the country's leading jazz musicians. It has made the playlists of L.A.'s top jazz stations, including KJAZ, KKJZ and Doug MacIntyre's KABC Redeye show, while Loretta has enjoyed performing at some of the area's favourite jazz hotspots. Now back in Sydney, Loretta is continuing to promote her recording, which includes some popular standards as well as originals inspired by nostalgia for her hometown. Her other passions include teaching students an effective fast track method to achieve their optimal singing potential, as well as combining core singing with therapy, incorporating her skills as a trained counsellor and psychotherapist. |