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"In The Pocket"
Jazz Ensemble

“Ballin clearly brings class, confidence and sophistication to this music…. Ballin shapes her performances with a consistency rarely heard, delivering radiant vocals over a tight musical safety net”

All About Jazz

“Ballin sings with a veteran confidence and authority not typically co-joined with such youthful verve.” - Jazz Blues Magazine

“Her singing is confident, assured, as if a great actress strode on stage, sure of herself and her lines, deeply informed about the music she wants to make and the effect she hopes it will have on us…. She plays with the song while honoring it, as do her superb accompanists…. What she so generously shares with us is remarkable.” - Jazz Lives 

 

Yaala’s bold phrasing is precisely inflected, catching each beat exactly when she ought to, while leaving room for spontaneous expression and emotionally -emphasised notes to surprise the audience with new lyrical improvisations to make them appreciate the song even more. - Cyprus Mall

 

Ballin's ability to hold a note, plus her unique style of phrasing, crafted an additional feeling of evolution to the music… She utilized a talent for using her voice, as well as strategic pauses, to twist the lyrics in a way that placed special emphasis on certain lines. - Broadway World 

About Yaala

The hallmark of Yaala’s performances is her love for storytelling. She takes the audience on a journey of love and heartbreak. Her vocal style is loyal to the tradition of jazz legends Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Carmen Mcrae, and her unique ability to improvise freely with lyrics, while playing with melodies, rhythms and tempos allows her to deliver songs in dynamically exciting and surprising ways.

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Yaala has released 5 recordings, tours Europe and the U.S. regularly and has traveled extensively as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department in the Middle East and Europe. A noted instructor, she has held faculty positions at The City College of New York's Jazz Vocal Department, The New School For Jazz and Contemporary Music, and The Center for Jazz Studies in Tel Aviv.​​​

Contact: yaalaballin@gmail.com

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