Lori Bell

Brooklyn, NY native Lori Bell plays the C-flute and alto flute, and is a composer and interpreter of contemporary jazz, Brazilian, and neo-classical musics. Initially, Bell studied classical music with renowned instructors Frederick Baker, Damian Bursill-Hall, Judith Mendenhall, Claude Monteux, and Phil Cohen. But gravitating to jazz upon a move to California, Bell found a new home literally and figuratively. On her debut recording for the Discovery label, Love Will Win, she was accompanied by veterans — pianist Dave Mackay and bassist Andy Simpkins — garnering high marks from the dean of jazz critics Leonard Feather, and was nominated for a Grammy for best new artist in 1983. Her 1989 follow-up disc, Take Me to Brazil, covered another area of her passion with her own original compositions, and was given a great review by the Los Angeles Times. Over the years, Bell's live performances have included venues such as the Wadsworth Theater, the Neurosciences Institute, the Kennedy Center, and the Vic. In 1998, Bell reunited with Mackay, joining guitarist/vocalist Ron Satterfield in the trio Interplay. Their self-titled first album was selected on the 1999 Grammy ballot in four categories, including best jazz solo. Her eponymously titled CD released in 2002 on the Beeswax label was again nominated by the Grammy award panel, who recognized Bell with selections in five categories, among them best instrumental arrangement, best composition, and best instrumental solo. As a collaborator, she has worked alongside West Coast artists William Aura, George Nelson, Kevin Koch, Duncan Moore, Chip Davis, Tom Barabas, Checkfield, Mike Garson, Peter Sprague, Chip Davis, David Enos, Ellyn Rucker, Dennis Bono, Arturo Velasco, Enzo Todesco, Tamir Handelman, and Angelo Metz. She has been featured at the 2003 annual conference of the National Flute Association, toured in a concert program called "From Bach to Bebop," and produced the recording The Music of Djavan for Resonance records in 2008. She has been teaching both classical technique and jazz improvisation as an instructor of flute at San Diego State University. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi