Lynda Covello

Most of my earliest memories are musical ones: my grandfather singing Italian arias and folk songs in his sweet tenor; Dad crooning Sinatra-style to Mom as they danced through the house; my cousins, aunts and uncles singing together at Sunday dinners at Papa’s house high on the bluff overlooking Lake Superior. Music was everywhere and people were always singing and playing it. I grew up singing as I grew up breathing – it was just something you did. I listened to all kinds of music growing up: opera, jazz, blues, classical, rock, pop, country – it really depended on who was in charge of the record player or the radio dial at any particular moment. Needless to say, I developed eclectic tastes. I enjoyed singing and playing, performing in a championship school choir one year, then a charity telethon, various garage bands and school shows. Then I grew up and went away to University to get an education so I could earn a living. Which I did. I studied International Relations, then I became a lawyer and practiced for more than 20 years. I still do, part-time. I got married and had a family. I enjoyed my life and didn’t really realize how much I missed singing with live musicians until one night I got up at an open mic. And there it was. I was home. I have had a lot of teachers on this road. Most recently, I've studied with Rita di Ghent in Toronto and Kathy Gravina-Cavell at Cavell Music Studios in Philadelphia. The band is called Deep Dark Secrets, because I kept my musical and professional lives separate for a long time. Many of the people who know me as a lawyer and business person don't know that I'm a professional vocalist. I'm like Batman, except that my secret identity is that I'm a lawyer by day and a jazz singer by night. Lynda Covello's Deep Dark Secrets Jazz & Blues Band, performs an edgy mix of jazz & blues ,and has a rotating cast of talented musicians, including Tony Quarrington on guitar & vocals, Jordan O'Connor on bass, Ian MacIllivray on trumpet & vocals, Chris Gale on saxophone, Peter Hill, Amanda Tosoff or Mark Kieswetter on piano and Glenn Anderson or Sly Juhas on drums. Deep Dark Secrets on any given night may consist of anywhere from 2 to 7 musicians, depending on the gig. Following the successful launch of our first album, Forever Torch, on November 14, 2012, it's not such a secret anymore! Influences include Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday,Julie London, Carmen McCrae, Ella Fitzgerald, June Christy, Peggy Lee, Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Stan Getz, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, T-Bone Walker, k.d.lang, Norah Jones..