The list of Grammy-winner Lara Lavi’s occupations is normally spread out among an entire graduating class: Americana singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, media/tech/entertainment law attorney,entertainment company executive, business development specialist, film and TV producer & writer…for starters. Practicing law since 1987, she’s been the managing partner of her Seattle-based law firm, Media Law Group, all while growing as an artist and managing her production company, Dreaming in Color.
Her musical career as a classical piano prodigy starting at age three; at seven she added the violin, at 18 the guitar and at 21 the viola. By the time she was 19, she had dropped out of the University of Chicago to sing in the city’s blues bars, where bluesman Jimmy Johnson took her under his wing. She eventually toured with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, until Mom and Dad stepped in.
Her parents insisted she finish her studies. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Lavi went to law school in Oregon. During her first decade practicing law, she was an attorney for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe near Seattle, WA.
But back to music. Lavi has recorded award winning albums both on her Very Juicy Records and on A&M Records during its golden era. Together, her albums The Art of Living and Inside the Room have sold over 500,000 hard copies—pre- Internet and pre- social media marketing. Lavi learned the ropes of the music business from touring with many top acts, and from Bill Graham Management, which supported her rise as a songstress and performer.
She took a break from work with Warner Chappell publishing (as a professional writer) to raise her son and eventually manage his music career before returning to the stage herself. “I like to think I grew my own guitar player,” Lavi said of her alt-rocker son, Cameron Miles Lavi-Jones, of King Youngblood fame. Even motherhood, however, led to an undertaking—she plans to release Little Dreamers, Lullabies & Love Songs, a children’s project she wrote when pregnant with Cameron, now 21.
So why does a successful songwriter with lots to sing about come back with a cover? Lavi told Elmore, “I am returning to my musical life with Joni Mitchell’s iconic song ‘River’ because for me this song has been incredibly influential throughout my songwriting career, just as it has for so many Americana female singer/songwriters. I also chose this song because 2020 has been so painful for all of us artists, with no touring, and all of us learning to retool our careers such that skating away on an icy river just seemed to reflect the angst all of us are feeling. But most importantly, I wanted to honor where I come from as I embark on where I am going in 2021, as an artist with three original Americana albums coming out in the next 18 months. Joni Mitchell’s Blue album is always somewhere with me deep in my consciousness. I decided to depart from the traditional intro in favor of Phil Peterson and I performing a cello/vocal duet, rounded out with my son Cameron Lavi-Jones on acoustic guitar and my husband Maurice Jones Jr. on bass. We shot the video in one continuous take in Phil’s studio and recorded the song at the same time. To say creating this was magical would be an understatement. I have never before released a song that someone else wrote ever in my career but if I had to choose one song to return to my authentic self with after all these years—’River’ is most definitely my truest choice.”
With multi-gold record producer/arranger Phillip Peterson (Taylor Swift, Portugal the Man, Ryan Lewis, Pink), her husband Maurice Jones Jr., her gifted son Cameron, and an army of true believer musicians and industry professionals holding her up, Lavi is an example of what is possible when you decide not to give up on your authentic self.
Learn more about Lara Lavi HERE
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