co-producer Scott Sorkin.
Link to WGLT Podcast
Lin grew up in Monterey California in a family of singers and musicians. Her mother noticed Lin's singing abilities at age two. Lin joined her mother on stage and sang in many USO shows. She went on to appear on radio (KDON) in Monterey at age five. She won a Nelson Riddle Song contest in college and went on to compete at state level. She didn't win, but was on her way. At 18, she started singing in nightclubs around Monterey. She moved on to San Francisco clubs. Most notable, was the hungry “i", El Matador, Purple Onion and Keystone Korner. Jazz festivals were next on her “to do list". She sang University concerts at Stanford, UC Cal Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Foothill College, UC Santa Clara and occasionally conducted vocal clinics. She appeared on local radio/TV spots, ie San Francisco's KQED “Open Studio".
“Studio work intrigued me." Fearlessly, she launched into jingles, commercials and the voice over world. She studied at Samantha Parris's “Voicetrax" in Sausalito. She recorded numerous LPs with the Jazz group Solar Plexus. The music genre was a combination of Latin, Fusion, free form and Brazilian. “It was a real growth space for me. Our original compositions were in odd meters and mix metered music, and no lyrics. It was extremely challenging. I was the “voice as horn" in the group and expected to solo and sing harmony and lead lines." Unaccompanied electronic vocalizing solos were also a part of her package on stage.
Lin's work was singled out by jazz critics. Don Heckman, Phil Elwood, John Wasserman, Al Evers, Ralph Gleason, Leigh Weimers and James Murray, praised her work. But it was Herb Wong that brought the group to “Inner City Records", a New York based jazz label. Lin shared stages with the likes of Dave Brubeck, Eddie Duran, Buddy Montgomery, Smith Dobson, Mark Murphy, Richie Cole, Jackie and Roy, Abe Most, Eddie Miller, Chet Baker, Vince Guaraldi, Mavis Rivers, Bill Watrous, Jimmy Borges, Eddie Duran, Al Jarreau, Cal Tjader, Don Grusin, and George Van Epps. Her composition “Seascape" (ded. to Urszula Dudziak), was a Cashbox “preferred cut". Radio Review, High Fidelity, and a “best cut" cited by Billboard, joined ranks.
