Russ Lorenson

A terrific voice. Charisma to spare. A delightful raconteur. Impeccable musical taste and vocal phrasing. Unassuming nice guy. They all apply to Russ Lorenson, whose burnished tenor has thrilled audiences throughout the US and Europe.

Since his breakout club debut in 2005, Russ Lorenson has established a reputation as one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading interpreters of jazz standards. As a singer, he is equally at home whether entertaining a concert hall audience or performing in the more intimate cabaret setting. With comparisons to Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, and Chet Baker, Lorenson has a voice one savors and remembers. It's no wonder he's called "San Francisco's Favorite Crooner."

Russ Lorenson’s latest album, Standard Time: Live In New York, is prime vintage Lorenson. The album is culled from 2008 recordings from the venerated (and sorely missed) Metropolitan Room nightclub in New York. The album features Lorenson and his telepathic jazz combo, including longtime musical arranger and pianist Kelly Park, capturing lightning in a bottle. It’s a “you are there” experience, and you can just feel the energy of the many special audience guests, including legendary Broadway actress Julie Wilson, celebrated actress/cabaret star Klea Blackhurst, singer and composer Tony DeSare and composers Ray Jessel, Bob Levy, Michael Garin, and Tony DeSare.

Standard Time is a show in which Lorenson explores the concept that The Great American Songbook did not stop being written in 1959. Aptly, the album features a “modern classics” program of songs. Lorenson and band turn in a haunting and swinging version of Lionel Richie’s “Hello.” “My interpretation is of a stalker who lives next door to someone with whom he is madly in love and jealous of,” Lorenson reveals. Fittingly, his phrasing smolders as he sings the line “or is someone loving you?”

With composer Tony DeSare literally in front of him, Lorenson sings, “How I Will Say I Love You,” honoring DeSare’s original arrangement, but adding in a very Lorenson soaring finale. He slinks into a cool bossa nova groove for the Kelly Park original “Diamond In The Sky,” written for Kelly’s daughter, which cleverly repurposes the lyrics for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Standard Time closes with the beautifully nostalgic ballad, “It’s Raining Memories,” a Lorenson-Park original that relishes in its warm sound, captivating melody, and fantastic instrumental work. Unafraid of looking back on lost love or feeling its painful sting. Lorenson takes those sorrowful moments and softens the edge with his enchanting voice.

In recognition of his solid and sophisticated musical vocabulary, Downbeat called him "A showman of taste and discretion [who] admires Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin without imitating them or adopting a Rat Pack smugness." The Los Angeles Times said that he brings “a supple voice and strong sense of characterization to all his songs." The San Diego Union-Tribune said that his “relaxed, easy deliveries...seem natural and heartfelt." The Coronado Journal simply called him “…irresistible…”