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Biography
Grammy-nominee Janet Lawson, born Janet Polun on November 13 , 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a jazz singer and educator. Born into a family of professional musicians, as a child she performed on the radio and regional television. She holds adjunct professorships at New York University, the New School and at City College, N.Y., and currently lives in New York City.
She has worked with Duke Ellington, Bob Dorough, Tommy Flanagan, Ron Carter, Barry Harris, Milt Hinton, Dave Liebman, Joe Newman, Rufus Reid, Barney Kessel, Clark Terry, Ed Thigpen, Cedar Walton and the Art Farmer Quartet. She was soprano soloist with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in "Blood Memories" at City Center, New York, and composed and created with lyricist Diane Snow, a musical, “Jass is a Lady,” produced by Playwrights Horizons in New York City. Lawson also appeared regularly on Steve Allen's television show (1968-1969). Her group, the Janet Lawson Quintet, has recorded two albums, "The Janet Lawson Quintet" (1981) and "Dreams Can Be" (1983). Her first album, "The Janet Lawson Quintet" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female in 1981. She lost to Ella Fitzgerald. Lawson, a scat singer, also appeared on "The Main Man" by Eddie Jefferson in 1977. Recordings from her two albums were recently compiled on CD, "The Janet Lawson Quintet", by Cambria Master Recordings.
