In December 2005, Larra performed her first show at the famed Montreal Bistro in Toronto to a sold-out crowd. Her original compositions have been receiving airplay from Jaymz Bee and Reiner Schwarz of Jazz FM 91.1, and at campus stations CKLN 88.1 FM and CIUT 89.5. She has performed with some of the best of the best in Toronto's jazz scene--including Jim Vivian, Barry Romberg and Bob Brough. She continues to write music and is currently studying privately with Lisa Martinelli.
Larra has had a lifetime of experiences that have led to her finding her unique voice as a musical storyteller, and also achieving success as a creative entrepreneur. On the shelves of her family's bookstore were Larra's tools for learning to play guitar and inspirations for writing songs. Her older siblings are accomplished singer-songwriters; sister Rosanne Baker Thornley's 1993 CD, Courage, was distributed by Sony Music. By age 11, Larra was singing and learning the nuances of harmony in a professional children's choir, and at 14 was writing and regularly showcasing her original material at a Newmarket coffeehouse.
Throughout her high school years, she played trombone in a variety of jazz ensembles and concert bands, and also fronted the six-piece folk-rock outfit Mars Violet that played the 2002 Women's Voices Festival in Ottawa. In addition to providing experience as a bandleader, Mars Violet was also Larra's showcase for her own original songs in French and English.
In 2002-03, Larra studied at Ryerson University's prestigious journalism school. Here, in addition to exploring another creative vehicle for her writing skills, she developed a powerful understanding of how to use the media to reach the masses. A Canada Day backyard jam that summer led to a collaboration with songwriter/producer Gerard P. Finn (Damhnait Doyle, EMI). Several months later, their songwriting and recording partnership flourishing, Larra decided to take a one-year leave from her studies, move to Hamilton and work with Gerard.
They returned to Toronto to complete The World Disappears, whose other co-writers include Eric Boucher, Adrean Farrugia, and Mladen Solaja. Recorded at Reaction Studios in 2005, it features some of the most respected and sought-after jazz musicians in Canada, including: pianists Farrugia and Boucher, drummer Kevin Brow, bassist Jim Vivian, trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, saxophonist Bob Brough, and guitarists Geoff Young and Matt Stevens.
The album is currently available through Larra's independent label, AudioMaiden Music.
For more information contact All About Jazz.