Artist Roster |
Elisa Fiorillo
Official Website : |
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YouTube: |
www.youtube.com/user/ejflower |
Territory of Representation
Exclusive representation in Europe, Africa, Asia (excluding Japan) and Australia
In a nutshell
New jazz singer Elisa Fiorillo is best known as the pop diva who made it so big in the late 80's / early 90's that she even got labeled as “the new Madonna”.
During that period Elisa Fiorillo worked with super-producers like Jellybean Benitez, Reggie Lucas, Gardner Cole, David Z. and Prince; she released 2 albums and scored hits with songs like “Who found who” (with Jellybean), “How Can I Forget You”, “Forgive Me For Dreaming” and “On The Way Up” (which was co-written by Elisa and Prince, and made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #26).
In the late 90's, after having provided background vocals for successful artists like Prince, Savage Garden, David Cassidy, Belinda Carlisle, etc., Elisa decided to switch to the music genre she had so come to love: Jazz!
In 2006 she released her critically acclaimed “Labor of Love” CD, her first “Jazz” album full of original Jazz songs.
In the future Elisa Fiorillo will be touring with her band in Jazz venues and at Jazz festivals all over the world. Her set list will be a mix of Jazz standards, original compositions from her “Labor Of Love” album and a couple of her “Pop” hits.
Biography
Still only 16 years of age, Elisa won “Best Female Vocalist” on the hit TV talent show “Star Search” (the 1980's equivalent to “American Idol”). Winning brought with it a major recording contract with Chrysalis Records.
Her first album - simply titled “Elisa Fiorillo” - (featuring the hit singles “How Can I Forget You” and “Forgive Me For Dreaming”) was released in 1988 and received numerous accolades including “Best New Artist” at the Tokyo Music Festival (beating out multi-platinum selling artists Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and Richard Marx). That same year Elisa sang lead on the Top 10 dance hit “Who Found Who” with Madonna's super-producer Jellybean Benitez at the helm. Elisa toured all over the United States and Europe promoting both Jellybean's hit single and her own album.
Her second album on Chrysalis Records entitled “I Am” (released in 1990) had her working with yet another hit record producer: David Z. (who produced major hits for artists like The Jets, The Fine Young Cannibals, Jody Watley, etc.). While recording with David Z. at Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, Elisa recalls how she met Prince and eventually began working with him ... “Well I was taking a break from singing and went to the bathroom, when I got back Prince was sitting there with David listening to my vocal, he loved what he heard but did not believe it was me really singing ...he said “Is that really you”, I said “yes, I'll prove it to you” ... I began singing on the spot ... he paused then said “meet me in studio B in two hours” ... I showed up two hours later and sang on the 12” version of Partyman from the 1989 “Batman” soundtrack ... that was the beginning ... Prince ended up producing 1/2 of my album ... I even co-wrote the first single “On The Way Up” with him ... this is when I really began gaining confidence as a songwriter”. The song “On The Way Up” eventually made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #26.
Elisa also sang on Prince's two subsequent albums, singing lead vocals on “Love Machine” from the 1990 “Graffiti Bridge” soundtrack, and singing backgrounds on “Daddy Pop” and “Walk Don't Walk” from the 1991 “Diamonds and Pearls” album.
With an exceptional ear for harmony, great pitch and rhythm, many other successful artists and producers besides Prince have also sought out Elisa's talents as a background vocalist ... Savage Garden, David Cassidy, Belinda Carlisle, Dave Koz, Billie Myers, and La Toya Jackson to name a few.
You can also hear Elisa's distinct voice on numerous television commercials including: “The Address is CBS”, “Planet Reebok”, “Hawaiian Punch” and “Fox TV”. As a touring background vocalist, Elisa worked with the mega-platinum selling pop duo Savage Garden for their “Affirmation Tour 2000” and with trendy British pop-rock diva Billie Myers. These sold out world tours took Elisa around the globe and afforded her a great deal of concert stage experience as well as once in a lifetime opportunities like opening up for legendary artists like Bob Dylan!
However, no matter how busy Elisa was singing background vocals or touring with other artists, she would look for any opportunity to sing the music she had so come to love: Jazz! For Elisa the high pressure, trendy nature of pop music had been losing its appeal for years. Elisa followed her heart and formed her own Jazz band. She began doing night club performances to eager and enthusiastic audiences in and around Los Angeles .
Knowing Elisa's discontent with the “Pop” world and having known and worked with Elisa on numerous musical projects and styles over the years, close friend and musician/producer Nyalle Iameh suggested they record a full album of original Jazz songs at his studio. Elisa agreed in a heartbeat. The result is the 2006 critically acclaimed “Labor of Love” CD (available at CDBaby.com).
Elisa emotionally comments on the making of this album saying “... It was a project that I had wanted to work on for so long with Nyalle and we finally did it! ... creating this album was truly a ‘Labor Of Love' from beginning to end, not only because I love singing Jazz, but the musicians that played on it breathed so much life into my songs ... also, Nyalle and I got to follow through on our vision, to create an album inspired by the pure love for music without pressure from anyone.” What made the whole process even more inspiring and special for Elisa was the fact that while she was recording this album she was pregnant with her very first child Olivia. She goes on to say “... Nyalle suggested that we write a song about the whole experience of being pregnant called “Bun In The Oven” ... we went to work and wrote and recorded it, after I heard it back for the first time, I realized that every mother in the world was going to relate to this song and love it !”
In the future Elisa will be performing live with her band in Jazz venues and at Jazz Festivals all over the world. She is hoping that “Labor Of Love” will reach every continent since the sentiment of the entire album is so heartfelt, personal and real, that it will touch all who listen to it.
(source : www.elisafiorillo.com / edited by Quentin Geerinckx )
