Laila Smith

Saturday, August 13, 2011 | 48 Hour Stage | 4pm

At 16, Laila Smith has received acclaim for her virtuosic singing, songwriting and arranging. A recipient of four Downbeat Student Music Awards, Laila presents her original compositions and arrangements of standards from her ever-expanding songbook.

Since first appearing at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest at age 6, she has been featured throughout the Bay area with Stanford Jazz, SFJazz, Monterey Jazz, the Berkeley Jazzschool and the Palo Alto Jazz Alliance. Her performance at Stanford Jazz Camp in 2009 earned her an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. Her combo arrangement earned a trip to the Jazz Education Network convention in New Orleans where she performed with a combo from the UNT One O'clock Band.

Her trio includes Hristo Vitchev on guitar and Ken Okada on bass; expect some special guests to join her onstage.