Sarah Clay - Vocals, Flute and hand percussion
Sarah Clay enjoyed her childhood at the top of her lungs, singing anywhere and everywhere, solo and in choral and pop tight-harmony groups. Her formal music education began on flute under the guidance of Frank Weilbacher, principal oboeist and all-around woodwind player of the Radio City Music Hall orchestra. She later studied voice with Marina Koshetz (daughter of opera diva Nina Koshetz) in Los Angeles. She holds a BA in Mediaval & Renaissance Studies and Music from New York University. Clay traces her musical talent to her father who, as a young man in Pittsburgh, played jazz guitar with Erroll Garner, Dodo Marmarosa and André (then known as Andy) Previn.
Trained in classical technique, Clay has been praised for her clarity of tone, sensitive phrasing and playful rhythms. She admires the vocal technique and phrasing of Ella Fitzgerald, Dianne Reeves, Tony Bennett and Anita O'Day.
An accomplished graphic designer, Clay transcribes and transposes all the band's charts.