Bio


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paula Byrne's voice is like chilled champagne on a hot summer day. She moves easily between songs that are lush and beautiful to highly rhythmic, wild rides. Her sense of humor, revival of obscure songs and new twists on old standards keeps the audience engaged and enraptured.

 

Paula is eclectic in her choice of musicians with whom to perform, including many of Portland's best: Randy Porter, Gordon Lee, George Mitchell, Craig Bidondo, Joe Millward, Ron Steen, Dennis Caiazza, Rich Turnoy, Glenn Holstrom, Andrea Niemiec, Kevin Dietz, Christopher Woitach and Darin Clendenin, Matt Tabor, Craig Snazelle, Dave Captein, Vince Frates, Dan Gaynor, John Gilmore, Mike Horsfall, Greg Goebel, Dan Presley, Carlton Jackson, Gordon Lee, Todd Marston.

 

Born to a jazz drummer (father) and figure skater (mother), she has been a lover of music and movement since birth. Paula teaches dance locally and internationally, and has been a moving force in the dance scene in Portland since 1996. She is the creator of the Wild Grace™ and DanceQuest™ movement meditations, and is Founder of SomaSpace ~ Studio of Movement Arts in NE PDX.

 

Paula was an Oracle software developer in the corporate high-tech field for 20 years. She left that career in 2005 to devote herself full-time to her soul-work in assisting people to remember and reconnect to the body as a source of wisdom, pleasure and joy in the present moment.

 

Paula's YouTube Channel : YouTube

 

Paula's Transformational Dance Website : www.WildGrace.us

 

Paula's TED Talk on Everyday Dancing :

"TED Talk"

 

In Other's Words


Paula Byrne's singing is a dose of sophisticated elegant phrasing, with a southern charm and a bit of soulful blues mistress thrown in! She's got class!
-- Greta Matassa, vocalist, teacher

Paula Byrne is a masterful jazz vocalist who tells her story with a wry, smoky emotion and sultry control that leaves her listeners wanting more!
-- Ron Steen, percussionist, bandleader

Paula's work ethic and pure singing style is second to none, I always look forward to our gigs and workshops together since I know that they will be fresh, musical and teeming with new ideas, great fun for the top notch musicians she employs and the audiences she delights.
-- Dennis Caiazza, bassist

I love working with Paula - she's got a great instrument, an innate sense of rhythm, and is not shy about taking musical chances.
-- Mike Horsfall, pianist

Paula possesses all of the hallmarks of a great singer: effortless phrasing, a strong sense of rhythm, and an ear that is informed by the classic jazz vocalists. When she sings, the whole room swings!
-- Andrea Niemiec, bassist

Paula Byrne's performances are always a hit! Her lush, graceful style and modern twists on classic jazz songs always keep the audience fully engaged. She surprises the audience with an ironic sense of humor juxtaposed against her classy presence. Paula is a true artist that takes her work very seriously. She's always a a joy to work with.
-- Linda Shankweiler, owner Prontobella's

Paula Byrne is a highly talented and deeply expressive vocalist. But even more significantly, she is a dynamic, engaging performer. She approaches each song with a sense of immediacy and intimacy, drawing listeners in, making each audience member her personal audience of one. And she approaches each performance as a story to be told as a whole: each word, each note, is given its due attention, and every song is a chapter, connected by the thread of her intention to entertain and inspire.
-- Owen James, guitarist

 

 

Copyright 2014. Paula Byrne Music. All rights reserved.