Biography
Brooklyn native Lori Bell is a flutist and composer of admirable depth and broad musical sympathies. A resident of San Diego, she has contributed to the development of higher standards of performance while earning acclaim from both peers and critics for her artistry on stage and in recordings. Lori recently won a 2011 Global Music Award for her depth of playing, composing and arranging.
Lori has studied with such esteemed pedagogues as Frederick Baker, Damian Bursill-Hall, Judith Mendenhall, Claude Monteux, and Phil Cohen.
Her debut on Discovery Records, "Love Will Win" with pianist Dave Mackay and bassist Andy Simpkins, received warm praise and four and a half stars (out of five) from the esteemed Leonard Feather and was selected on the Grammy list for Best New Artist in 1983. A second Discovery disc, "Take Me To Brazil", demonstrated her ability to maintain a high level of inspiration. This album featured the first of several fine original compositions and was enthusiastically given four stars by the Los Angeles Times in 1989.
Over the past 20 years, Ms. Bell’s many performances in venues such as the Wadsworth Theater, SOKA Performing Arts Center, and the Kennedy Center, established her reputation, among musicians and audiences alike, as a remarkably vital interpreter. A recent performance at The Vic was exemplary of this quality, prompting the critic for the L.A. Times to note that "Bell’s playing - on C flute and the lower, darker sounding alto flute - was gorgeous, filled with light and air on the ballads, briskly inventive on her bop-tinged improvisations".
In 1998, this artistic maturity was delightfully demonstrated with her stellar work with Dave Mackay and 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 by Ms. Bell on Pat Metheny’s, "It’s Just Talk." The disc, which garnered four stars from Scott Yanow in Strictly Jazz magazine, also features her composition "Playing in The Snow", a waltz that skillfully combines an uncommon musicality with a fresh, intrinsic charm.
After a 2004 date at "The Vic", the L.A. Times noted that INTERPLAY'S "constantly engaging set" rendered "the tunes with the collective enthusiasm and musicality that defines the work of this superlative ensemble".
Ms. Bell conveyed her special talents to a wider audience with her first solo endeavor, her eponymous CD. Released in 2002 on the Beezwax label, the "Lori Bell" album featured several fine arrangements of original compositions and standards. The Grammy Award panel recognized the album’s comprehensive excellence with selections in five categories, among them Best Instrumental Arrangement, Best Composition, and Best Instrumental Solo. The CD also won a 2011 Global Music Award. "The GMA's Award of Excellence goes to Lori Bell for her album 'Lori Bell" which features music of depth and outstanding arrangements of original composition."
Ms. Bell headlined in at the Gala for the 2003 Annual Conference of the National Flute Association. She and her musical partner, Ron Satterfield, distinguished themselves as worthy peers of the many fine musicians that graced the stage that evening.
In 2008, Lori signed a multi-album deal with Resonance Records. The first CD, entitled "The Music of Djavan" was released in the fall and features such superb artists as pianist Tamir Hendelman, bassist David Enos, and drummer Enzo Todesco. Praised as "...a rousing send up at the hands of one of the finest virtuoso flutists of our time" (Latin Jazz Network) and "a brilliant piece of discovery for jazz explorers." (All Jazz Network), the disc also received a 2009 San Diego Music Award nomination for Best Jazz Album. The newfound sympathy and inspired music making of this collaboration was most recently rendered in live performances in Los Angeles at Catalina Jazz Club, Crown Plaza LAX Jazz Club, Vitello's and a special performance for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Library.
An avid lover of chamber music, Lori performs regularly with The Rinaldi String Quartet, Caprice Strings, and The Cabrillo Orchestra. Her commitment to excellence is especially shown in the breadth of classical repertoire for flute and piano she has prepared and performed with her superior musical partner, Diane Snodgrass, over the last five years.
Currently, Lori is touring a concert program called "From Bach to Bebop", and is teaching both classical technique and jazz improvisation as instructor of flute / jazz faculty at San Diego State University.
Lori has studied with such esteemed pedagogues as Frederick Baker, Damian Bursill-Hall, Judith Mendenhall, Claude Monteux, and Phil Cohen.
Her debut on Discovery Records, "Love Will Win" with pianist Dave Mackay and bassist Andy Simpkins, received warm praise and four and a half stars (out of five) from the esteemed Leonard Feather and was selected on the Grammy list for Best New Artist in 1983. A second Discovery disc, "Take Me To Brazil", demonstrated her ability to maintain a high level of inspiration. This album featured the first of several fine original compositions and was enthusiastically given four stars by the Los Angeles Times in 1989.
Over the past 20 years, Ms. Bell’s many performances in venues such as the Wadsworth Theater, SOKA Performing Arts Center, and the Kennedy Center, established her reputation, among musicians and audiences alike, as a remarkably vital interpreter. A recent performance at The Vic was exemplary of this quality, prompting the critic for the L.A. Times to note that "Bell’s playing - on C flute and the lower, darker sounding alto flute - was gorgeous, filled with light and air on the ballads, briskly inventive on her bop-tinged improvisations".
In 1998, this artistic maturity was delightfully demonstrated with her stellar work with Dave Mackay and 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 by Ms. Bell on Pat Metheny’s, "It’s Just Talk." The disc, which garnered four stars from Scott Yanow in Strictly Jazz magazine, also features her composition "Playing in The Snow", a waltz that skillfully combines an uncommon musicality with a fresh, intrinsic charm.
After a 2004 date at "The Vic", the L.A. Times noted that INTERPLAY'S "constantly engaging set" rendered "the tunes with the collective enthusiasm and musicality that defines the work of this superlative ensemble".
Ms. Bell conveyed her special talents to a wider audience with her first solo endeavor, her eponymous CD. Released in 2002 on the Beezwax label, the "Lori Bell" album featured several fine arrangements of original compositions and standards. The Grammy Award panel recognized the album’s comprehensive excellence with selections in five categories, among them Best Instrumental Arrangement, Best Composition, and Best Instrumental Solo. The CD also won a 2011 Global Music Award. "The GMA's Award of Excellence goes to Lori Bell for her album 'Lori Bell" which features music of depth and outstanding arrangements of original composition."
Ms. Bell headlined in at the Gala for the 2003 Annual Conference of the National Flute Association. She and her musical partner, Ron Satterfield, distinguished themselves as worthy peers of the many fine musicians that graced the stage that evening.
In 2008, Lori signed a multi-album deal with Resonance Records. The first CD, entitled "The Music of Djavan" was released in the fall and features such superb artists as pianist Tamir Hendelman, bassist David Enos, and drummer Enzo Todesco. Praised as "...a rousing send up at the hands of one of the finest virtuoso flutists of our time" (Latin Jazz Network) and "a brilliant piece of discovery for jazz explorers." (All Jazz Network), the disc also received a 2009 San Diego Music Award nomination for Best Jazz Album. The newfound sympathy and inspired music making of this collaboration was most recently rendered in live performances in Los Angeles at Catalina Jazz Club, Crown Plaza LAX Jazz Club, Vitello's and a special performance for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Library.
An avid lover of chamber music, Lori performs regularly with The Rinaldi String Quartet, Caprice Strings, and The Cabrillo Orchestra. Her commitment to excellence is especially shown in the breadth of classical repertoire for flute and piano she has prepared and performed with her superior musical partner, Diane Snodgrass, over the last five years.
Currently, Lori is touring a concert program called "From Bach to Bebop", and is teaching both classical technique and jazz improvisation as instructor of flute / jazz faculty at San Diego State University.
