clara lofaro

Singer songwriter Clara Lofaro shines brightly on her new album Night Light. Funky and sexy, Lofaro is as talented a singer as she is a songsmith. Her lyrics are progressive and keenly observant as she delivers them with a powerfully sultry voice.

She's also sharp and savvy, employing eleven fellow musicians to help her achieve her musical dreams. Among the gang is Barry Marshall (who produces this beautifully crafted album) and Marko Djordjevic who helps Lofaro arrange her compositions. Best tracks include the uplifting 'Messenger", the funky *Wake Me Up” and the sultry, “Fly”, the best cut of the album.

Contact Info
e-mail: Info@claralofaro.com
Web: www.claralofaro.com


CLARA LOFARO
c/o Naked Ear Records
10 Brookline Place West
Brookline 0A. 02445
www.claralofaro.com
Clara Lofaro - vocals
David Soler – Guitar
Andreas Holmstrom - Bass
Marko Djordjevic – Drums

Clara Lofaro is a remarkably talented, singer and songwriter who hails from Toronto, Canada. A recent graduate of Berklee College, Clara has already developed a thriving fan base in Boston, wowing audiences at her weekly residency at Boston's Encore Lounge and is starting to make inroads into New York City.

While attending Berklee she also performed in a number of Boston and New York clubs with her band The Clara Lofaro Quartet. Fluent in a wide range of musical styles which includes pop, jazz, Latin and funk, she has more recently focused on building her own style and sound.

With the release of her debut album Night Light, Clara Lofaro exudes the smarts and musicianship of her influences from Sting to Ani DiFranco to Sarah McLachlan and Meshell Ndegeocello. Produced by Barry Marshall, Night Light is a collection of ambient, confessional tunes crafted through wisdom and inspiration. Accompanying her album Night Light is a music video of the title track which was shot by Subversion Media.
- Metronome Magazine

PUBLISHED JANUARY 5, 2007

When Clara Lofaro participated in Toronto Indie Week last October she considered throwing in the towel if it didn’t go well. Good thing, then, that she ended up winning the Urban/Soul category, beating over 350 other entries. Included in her prize was a distribution deal with Universal Canada.

"I came here and I was kinda on my last rope … you just doubt yourself a lot," she says. "I was like if we don’t place anything, if we don’t do well, if we don’t affect any of those people … I think this is it, who am I fooling? Indie Week showed me that this really is something special and that made a huge difference for me."

A Toronto native, Lofaro left home after high school on a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston then settled in New York, her current home. "I had just finished Berklee. I fast-tracked through there because I was visiting New York while I was there and playing with musicians in New York already … it was the natural next step," she says. "I had maxed out the music scene in Boston … there was so much great music in New York. I just could not wait to get out there."

With the combination of Lofaro’s charismatic and sensual stage presence and the rich melodious songs on her second album, Black + Blue Pearl, released on her own label ComeTrue Records Inc., it’s no surprise she won at Indie Week. Lofaro admits it’s an extremely personal album and describes its theme as "the beauty that survives through the struggle."

Influenced by artists such as Annie Lennox, Patty Griffin and Bill Withers, Lofaro’s music is hard to pigeonhole, and blends several genres including soul, rock and jazz. Her songs are laced with soulful grooves, and her vocals ooze with both vulnerability and defiance. She attempts to describe her sound, "without sounding vain … I really don’t think I sound like someone else … I don’t wanna feel limited … I think a lot of music today is made to sound like someone who’s really made it. My goal is to create my own sound…I just wanna keep being true to my music, when I write a song it’s totally inspirational, I’m not trying to fit into a certain style or category."

Lofaro plays the Drake Underground Saturday.


- Amanda B. Haupt For METRO TORONTO

Jennifer Bill's After 6
She was the big winner at Toronto's Indie Week 2006 - beating out 467 other entrants - and Clara Lofaro has tken that fireball of momentum and used it to soar. In the past six months Lofaro has played a sold-out show with Alexa Ray Joel (Billy Joel's daughter) in New York City and performed at the Bamboozle Festival at Giants Stadium with 40,000 fans. Still buzzing the New York pop/soul/jazz singer/songwriter brings her spicy show to the Rivoli, 334 Queen St. W., on Friday. Doors 9 p.m. For more info call 416-596-1908. Check out www.myspace.com/claralofaro. - 24 Magazine - Toronto

Singer-songwriter Clara Lofaro is quickly becoming indie music's sweetheart. In 2006, she took home first place in Toronto's Indie Music Week after beating out 367 competing bands, and her song "One True Thing" triumphed as "#1 Son of the Year" on Ithaca's 106 VIC Radio. She proves to be a self-sufficient artist, having produced her latest album, Black & Blue Pearl, and releasing it on ComeTrue records, Inc., her own label. Her range of pop and soul can be heard traversing the airwaves of New England radio stations. - The Aquarian - NY/NJ

by Noah Ruede
Long before the coming of Britney Spears and the like, female pop vocalists have been a dime a dozen. Every once in a while however, there's a refreshing break from the monotony of Top 50 pop and Clara Lofaro is one of them. She will be pefroming at the Bitter End in NYC on Nov. 29. If you crave something different, be sure to make it there before it sells out.
Clara is a native of Toronto, where she developed a love for performance at an early age. She began with local talent shows and school plays but soon developed a love for poetry. While she developed her writing skills, she also began to experiment with the piano and trombone. Her diverse artistic interests and obvious natural talent earned her admittance into the Berklee College of Music, where she culivated a beautiful but nonetheless powerful singing voice.
Her work in college led her to record her first album, and eventually to create her own independent label, with which she produced her second album, Black & Blue Pearl. She is well known for her sincere, wholesome voice but also her feisty attitude, similar in certain respects to that of Pink. Her emotionally heavy live performances have earned her a solid fan base and are sure to impress skeptics across the continent.
Clara Lofaro's performance begins at 7 p.m. and is open to all ages. Tickets are $7. For more info, visit bitterend.com or myspace.com/claralofaro - The Aquarian - NY/NJ

Dear Superstar:

I'm so proud to be able to say, "I knew her when it only cost $5 to get in to see her perform; she had a last name; sold her records 1 for $10, or 2 for $15; and rode the J train. Now, she's just 'Clara', has a driver, I can't afford a ticket, and she couldn't even tell you where you could get a good deal on one of her Grammy Winning CD's".

I plan to be singing your praises to anyone who will listen and "holding my breath" until I can attend another of your gigs. If I had the time, I'd offer to be president of the "Clara Fan Club". I'm adding your name to the list of people and/or hits that I championed or knew before they were really big. You might be interested to know who else is on that list:

Trisha Yearwood, Sister Hazel, The Edwin R. Hawkins Singers (Walter, Tremaine, Edwin...)"Oh, Happy Day", Laura White, 3 Doors Down, Isis, Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Little Wing", Tracy Chapman's "Gimme One Reason", DeGarmo & Key, Honeytree, Dogwood, Michael Bolton's remake of "When a Man Loves a Woman", Resurgence of "Since I fell for you"; Liza Mills (she took Janis' place with Big Brother and the Holding Company at the Port Arthur Festival and touring Europe and U.S.); Garth Brooks (long, sad, songwriter-kicks-self-in-ass story), Neil McNeil, guitarist with Blankity Blank Band from Atlanta, and a couple more still up and coming artists, some I actually had a hand in promoting, others I just foresaw and predicted their huge success.

Maybe I should apply for an A&R rep. job with your custom label before you sign with WB, Universal, Sony or whoever has the good sense to sign you up first. I really do have proven, serially-magical ears. You should probably keep your label and just make a distribution deal with a major so you can have your own successful label as well.

Tell your band they did a great job. Congratulate Chuck on picking a great set and playing so many kick-ass bass lines, Kerri (sp) for the awesome backing vocals and the drummer (forgot his name). I loved it all; except the last song, though I do understand its broad, vast, rich market potential, I don't think you should go there. It's kind of out of the nitche that I'm sure you could dominate as "the Artist of the Year". I'd hate to have Clara known best for her hit single in an overpopulated uncharacteristic genre, especially since you blow me away in your already pretty broad range of nitches.

Though that last song was unique in ways and your particular style was it's best point, I believe a huge number of your most adoring fan base will not enjoy that particular cut. I would advise against going after one too many markets if it means not being known as the Queen of the market that you love the most. There is such a big place right at the top of the heap for exactly you. A good illustration is Bobby McFarrin (sp), virtually no one knows who he is until I say, "Don't Worry Be Happy!", and that is such a pity because he is the "Michael Jordan" of Jazz Vocalists, practically worshipped by fans like me and totally uncelebrated by the masses for his genius. I'm always trying to introduce people to his awesome true talents and they just remember the hit.

I just don't want to see you commit to a label based on the immediate millions they know they could make with that one song, make the flash in the pan money without committing to your life long carreer of developing a huge, stable, loyal, adoring fan base for the music that makes you who you are, a Superstar. OK, I'll take off my "Daddy hat" now and get back to singing your praises. You are a "MAJOR TALENT", only severe mishandling could stop you from taking the world by storm, and your band seems well equiped for the ride.

I'll be writing some reviews of your SoHo performance and submitting them for publication here and there; or should I just send it to you and let you send it to whoever you'd like? I'm a published music critic, renowned on the Mississippi Gulf Coast though I've been largely silent for years and haven't printed a music review in a year or so. Oh, and the club hugs were a whole lot better than the email ones, I look forward to getting a few more of those someday.

Sincerely,
Michael Couch,
Clara's Biggest Fan
(the above tittle is an upgrade from my previous status as merely A Clara LaFaro Fan)
I realize I may have to compete with others for this tittle and that only you can actually award the tittle but, heh heh, it is standard industry practice for anyone who wants, to make such a bold claim and no one ever seems to achieve an official final ownership of the tittle. Therefore, I maintain my claim to such tittle against all comers and would be glad to give up said tittle should someone present a valid claim of supperior Fanmanship. Send all contrary claims to personal my email address or your website since that would be a more neutral grounds for this Armagedon of fan warfares.
- www.blogger.com

"Black + Blue Pearl" is indie pop at its best. Lofaro has intentionally chosen a warm, organic sound for this production, making her immediately stand out against a backdrop of forgettable, vocoder-abusing pop divas.

Lofaro has great expressive range, able to spew biting lyrics in one song and draw her audience close with hushed vocals in another. Her talent and versatility as a songwriter is exquisitely showcased in this sophomore album, which displays a confidence and focus only hinted at in her debut.

The title track, "Black + Blue Pearl," which can best be described as an angry pop anthem dressed in flamenco funk, touts an infectious drum beat and a catchy melody. "Dizzy Spell" and "Happy Together" are sweet hook-riddled ditties you'll find yourself playing over and over again on your iPod. Mid-album, you'll find "start," a melancholy love song delivered with a sincerity that never fails to leave her fans with lumps in their throats. - www.itunes.com

Sometimes, despite whether or not I like a particular style of music, I can't deny talent. This is definitely one of those cases. This disc is essentially smooth jazz - complete with scat vocals on the track "Messenger." Ms. Lofaro sings with a creaminess that would make Sade jealous, and musically there is nothing to fault- all of the players are obvious pros. The standout tune is "Water Song" and includes the tastiest bass solo I've heard this side of Mingus. Clara tries to get things pumping on "Wake Me Up," which begins with a scorching guitar solo and adds the funky drummer beat, but just seems a bit out of place. My only complaint with this disc and with this style in general is that the playing is so flawless that it takes on a TV commercial aspect at times. This much polish can lose the listener and get downright boring. I am of course not the intended audience-I'll hand this off to my parents. I'm sure they'll love it.

http://www.claralofaro.com (Shady)

- The Noise

"The title track is Top 40 worthy, and very sultry. Sexy and stylish, her confidence comes out in this one."

In an era when American Idol is drenched in Britney Spears wannabes, a genuine-grassroots-Top 40 musician is hard to come by. Canadian Clara Lofaro brings hope to organic pop with catchy songwriting and musical composition. Her debut album, Black + Blue Pearl, spans an impressive array of genres – from lounge tunes and upbeat hip hop to acoustic pop and meringue – while keeping its radio-friendliness.

Clara plays the piano and sings, though many of the songs feature other musicians on horns, strings, percussion, and accordion. A backup vocalist adds to the color of often complicated vocal harmonies. The album’s dynamics are tremendous. Background sounds add much to the overall musical experience of Black + Blue Pearl. Atmospheric ocean waves and tasteful percussion add excellent finishing touches to melodic chord progressions and full vocal harmonies.


The title track, “Black+ Blue Pearl,” almost fits in the party/hip hop category. It’s Top 40 worthy, and very sultry. Clara is sexy and stylish, and her confidence comes out on this one.

In the pop-rock tune “Dizzy Spell”, the lyrics are nursery-rhyme-like, as Lofaro attaches dreamy characters (like Papa Sun and Mama Lune) in each verse to the chorus: “Wait for me Dear/Wait for me here/Wait til the morning for silence/Darkness falls fast/Dreams never last/Look to the moonlight for freedom.” While many (perhaps too many) of her songs fulfill that guy/girl pop image, “Dizzy Spell” disguises itself creatively, forcing listeners to interpret the metaphors; it’s an example of intelligent pop.


“War Song” and “Star-Candy,” are more lyrically universal, more understandable, and just plain beautiful. Both tunes are slower than the title-track, but veer away from the mainstream toward something deeper and heartfelt. This outside-the-box songwriting is something I can see Lofaro successfully expanding upon in the future.


The album is one thorough and artistic idea, but still lacks the polish of professional production. Apart from a few weak moments, the indie-grassroots tone is imperfectly great. At many moments I found myself singing the melody, but there’s an unexpected tonality. Her angelic voice can go mildly flat, but it speaks to the “realness” of Clara Lofaro. The authentic pop artist gets a million more kudos than the one who finds inspiration in imitation. Clara imitates no one and finds her niche in writing all manner of songs, some of which you may not like, but all of which you will respect.

- Corey Feldman, Cityzen.tv