The Origin Story

Lauren is a born and bred Detroiter, with ties to NYC, currently housed in Philadelphia.  The daughter of music heavies in the Detroit music scene, she grew up quite literally on (or near) the stage. With a background steeped in soul, jazz, and R&B, she began playing the piano at the age of 4, writing songs by 8, and singing professionally at 12.  Lauren studied jazz voice at the University of Michigan, earning her Bachelor of Musical Arts (B.M.A.) and studying under the tutelage of diverse faculty, including pianist Geri Allen, trombonist and arranger Dennis Wilson, and opera singer and voice professor Jean-Bernard Cerin. Lauren believes this mix of influences helped to mold her technical virtuosity and diversity of color palettes as a vocalist.

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Earning her Master of Music (M.M.) in songwriting composition from New York University, Lauren is a prolific songwriter, writing in a variety of genres and styles, crossing musical boundaries to create her distinct voice. Her aim? To tell a damn good story.

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Lauren has an extensive background working in music education, with previous experience as a music director, voice instructor, teaching artist, and adjunct professor with a number of prestigious organizations, including Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and the College of Performing Arts at The New School. She maintains a small private voice studio - check the teaching page for studio openings.

A seasoned session musician, Lauren can be found supporting others live and in the studio when not leading her projects. Additionally, she flexes her skills as an actress, workshopping new theatre and musicals in Detroit and New York City.

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She is tremendously proud of the recently released "Many Rivers" album with collaborators Chris Grasso and Mike Flanagan on Truth Revolution Records, of which she contributed two original works, and the positive reception it has received publicly and critically. As mentioned in Downbeat Magazine,

"I didn’t have a beautiful, evocative jazz take on Neil Diamond’s “Play Me” on my bingo card. Too bad for my bingo card. What singer Lauren Scales does with pianist Chris Grasso’s arrangement is the kind of transcendence that mere craftsmanship can’t convey. Vulnerability and undiluted expression mix with rhythmic nuance and attention to detail (with exquisite tenor sax fills by Mike Flanagan, the album’s third co-leader) in a moment of jazz singing as high art." - Michael J. West

Additionally, Lauren leads her band The Whole Tones, is the lead vocalist of progressive R&B group Valipala, and sings with the funk band Snack Cat. She continues to work in a variety of configurations across NYC, the Northeast, and the Midwest. She is excitedly working towards her debut solo album.