MUSIC AUDITIONS
JAZZ
CALIFORNIA, USA
06-02-2023 13:01 GMT
The Flute & Voice of Libbie Jo
Current Score: ★☆☆☆☆ ☆☆
Biography:
Rarely is a performer able to charm audiences of all ages with an elaborate and varied
repertoire, and yet exude an ease and poise as if there were nothing to it. Libbie Jo Snyder is
a perpetual “breath of fresh air” when she glides on stage with her flute, leaving one feeling
both relaxed and exhilarated by her intimate, yet breezy, musical style.
Called a “ jazz y twist of class” by writer Bruce Fessier of the Palm Springs Desert Sun,
Libbie is a musical master of everything from baroque to blues, which she both sings and plays
on flute. Her performances – a combination of jazz, blues, classical and pop – are often
joyful, sometimes moody, but always eloquently and generously delivered.
As a musician, songwriter and singer, Libbie has performed with many different noted
artists and groups including Paul Horn, Jane Getz, Sean Phillips, Buddy Collette, the San
Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Baroque Jazz Ensemble and the
Greg Smith singers. As a dancer and actress, she has performed in several films and over 22
musicals, having worked with such noted directors as Paul Mazursky, Elia Kazan, and Uta
Hagen. And she composed the incidental music for the documentary film, “Concert in the
Grand Canyon,” and for “The Reluctant Muse.”
Libbie has played flute in film scores by composers such as Elmer Bernstein, Jack
Nitzsche, David Amram and Bruce Langhorn, for such movies as “The Deep” and “Heroes.”
She received an ASCAP Super Song Award for her song “Love is So Revealing,” has had two
songs published by MCA, and wrote incidental flute music for “Poetry for People Who Hate
Poetry,” an voted American Library Association’s Best Film, Her song, “I Wanna Wear a
Diamond in My Belly Button,” was made Dr. Demento’s “best rock satire” list.
A native of Michigan, Libbie is a descendant of the Adams family, which produced two
United States presidents (John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams) and noted journalist
and writer Samuel Adams. But her immediate family was a theatrical one; Libbie spent her
high school summers dancing, singing and acting in her uncle’s summer-stock company. She
went on to the University of Michigan where she divided her time between the School of Music
and the Ann Arbor Repertory Company.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the University of Michigan,
Libbie moved to Southern California and began graduate studies at the University of Southern
California (USC). She soon began working with Latin artist Jo Loco on Fania Records. This
early influence has remained with her; Libbie’s favorite music, both to write and perform, is in
the jazz idiom with a Latin flavor, music she playfully terms “pop bop.”
Libbie taught flute courses at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles for eight years
and was named one of “Los Angeles’ Best Music Teachers” by Los Angeles magazine. At
that time, she formed her own ensemble and has since performed both as a classical and jazz
artist. Easily adapting to any audience, she has appeared in local clubs and series such as
the Arco “Concerts in the Sky,” the Long Beach Jazz Festival, the Queen Mary Jazz Series
and Century City Plaza Concerts. She has also performed at the Troubadour, the Gardenia
Club, and the Cinegrill.
She has culled a fine share of media accolades, including a winsome item by noted Los
Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith. And Harvey Siders delighted in Libbie’s work, calling
her “talented and gregarious” and “a walking bundle of fusion,” in Los Angeles’ Daily News.
In 1995, Libbie was one of 35 people chosen to work, study and perform for “Orvieto
Musica,” a chamber music performance workshop held in Orvieto, Italy.
Libbie recently co-produced a CD, titled “ The Flute & Voice of Libbie Jo ,” that was a
finalist in the “Euroclub de Jazz” contest sponsored by Sony. It features diverse songs that
make a curiously soothing, yet exciting, blend. Fans have the double pleasure of hearing
Libbie both sing and play flute, and three of the compositions are her own. Songs on the track
range from the lively and whimsical title song, to the mellow, Latin-flavored, “Only a Dream,” to
the haunting “Treasure Island,” to the dreamy and romantic “You’re My Everything,” and Libbie
added her own special twist on the standard “Whistle a Happy Tune.”
She is currently performing at local Los Angeles clubs and other venues, including the
Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill. A fan recently told her, “Your music is one of the few things that
can both lower my blood pressure and make me feel like dancing.” And what does Libbie do
to relax? She enjoys yoga, cooking, and giving delightful parties that include her own special
jam sessions with guests.