Tracklist

  1. Keep it to Yourself

  2. While The Music Plays On

  3. April Fooled Me

  4. Dream a Little Dream of Me

  5. He’s So Unusual

  6. Midnight Sun

  7. La Vie En Rose

  8. That’s the Kind of Guy I Dream of

  9. Love For Sale

  10. Personality

  11. Skylark

  12. Fantastic Planet of Love

Laura Ainsworth’s Keep It To Yourself introduced the world to this Dallas-based, satin-voiced retro jazz/lounge vocalist and her three-octave range. It received rave reviews and worldwide airplay, and was praised by Jazz Japan magazine as a rare debut by a new artist already fully mature in her talent, style, and persona. It established both her “new vintage” approach that mixes old and new elements to put a unique twist on classic lounge jazz, and her practice of combining reimagined standards, long-overlooked gems from decades past, and new songs strong enough to stand beside the classics, such as Marshall Crenshaw’s “Fantastic Planet of Love” and the darkly funny title track by Amy Rigby. 

Other standout cuts include her evocative version of “Love For Sale,” which classical pianist/recording artist Michael Lewin described as “the best ever…I grew up with Ella, but this is better.”  Also her stripped-down, live-in-the-studio take on “Skylark” with renowned guitarist Chris DeRose-Chiffolo.  Nick DeRiso of SomethingElseReviews.com called it “an update that emerges as the transcendent moment every singer hopes for when they dig out one of those dusty, decades-old favorites…The results are devastatingly beautiful, nakedly honest, and a powerful argument for the ageless compositions that Ainsworth so clearly treasures...”

Reviews of Keep It To Yourself…

“Gifted with a sultry, swoon-inducing croon, Ainsworth can sing any words and command attention… The whole album is among the year's most consistently engaging jazz releases, performed with class and heartfelt passion.” – AllAboutJazz.com

"You can keep all those pop divas. The only one for me is Laura Ainsworth... Ainsworth has beauty, brains, sophistication and comic timing that make her a total performance package... A wonderful modern interpreter of the Great American Songbook as well as thoroughly modern styles." - Eric Harabadian, Jazz Inside magazine

"Ainsworth’s voice is sublime as it caresses top-notch musicianship by a slew of southwest jazz players...It’s a very warm, elegant album with just enough big stage flair." - Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News 

"A unique gem...The title track opens and immediately transports us to a posh dinner and dancing club with fancy-dressed women and men with cigars. Ainsworth and band play gorgeously together, creating a charming, classic sound that would fit in any ’50s film with that club scene. I expected Rosemary Clooney or Bing Crosby to appear somewhere. Props to producer Brian Piper and mixer Kent Stump for tying up package that gives due respect to Ainsworth’s voice while never faltering on the instruments... The horns are crisp and each drumbeat or guitar pluck is as obvious as it is subtle.  

But Ainsworth is clearly the star. What she does with Johnny Mercer’s 'Skylark' and Cole Porter’s 'Love for Sale' is magic..." - Rich Lopez, Dallas Voice 

"Jazz vocalist Laura Ainsworth weaves past and present with stunning power...Her voice is like (a) mirror reflection into the past, conjuring black-and-white images of well-groomed gentlemen in trench coats and fedoras, smoke-enveloped bars, and glamorous women whose beauty is nearly as bright as their jewelry...Laura Ainsworth has that effect on the listener, an uncanny ability to flash portraits in the mind with a simple line... It might not be long before Dallas is not just known for its oil, Cowboys, and J.R. Ewing but a funny lady with a jewel of a voice..." - Robert Sutton, JazzCorner.com