April Aloisio

Although not well known nationally, April Aloisio is a sensitive and risk-taking jazz vocalist who has been recording in the Chicago area since the 1980s. Aloisio, a native and resident of the Windy City, doesn't have a big, robust voice and isn't a belter. Her voice is small and waifish (with being thin), and if Aloisio was an alto saxophonist instead of a singer, people would compare her to Paul Desmond or Lee Konitz instead of Jackie McLean or Phil Woods. Like many of the artists who came out of jazz's cool school, Aloisio has often demonstrated that favoring subtlety and understatement doesn't make someone any less expressive. Aloisio, who sings in both English and Portuguese, first recorded in 1985; however, it wasn't until 1994 that her first Southport release, Brazilian Heart, came out. That CD ranged from a 1985 recording of the George Gershwin standard "It Ain't Necessarily So" to recordings from 1994. Aloisio went on to record two more albums for Southport in the 1990s: Footprints in 1995-1996 and Easy to Love in 1997-1998. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide