YAALA

Yaala is a jazz vocalist and a vocal coach, based in New York City. Passionate about teaching and educating the next generation of jazz musicians, Yaala is passing on the torch of the vocal jazz tradition. Yalla follows in the footsteps of her own mentors over the years, including pianist Amit Golan and singer Sheila Jordan. Yaala teaches in English and Hebrew

Yaala Ballin regularly performs with her various ensembles that include duo with pianist Michael Kanan, jazz quartet with guitarist Pasquale Grasso bassist Ari Roland and drummer Keith Balla, the David Berger Big Band and her strings woodwind and brass chamber orchestra. Such diverse and wide-ranging musical collaborations draw on Yaala's extensive musical training as a flutist and a pianist, and life-long passion for music of all kinds.

Yaala held faculty positions at The City College of New York's jazz vocal department and at the Center for Jazz Studies in Tel Aviv (affiliated with The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC). She is currently accepting private students and conducting seasonal group workshops.

The hallmark of Yaala's performances is her love for storytelling. She takes the audience on a journey of love and heartbreak. Her singing style is loyal to the tradition of jazz legends Billie Holiday, Carmen Mcrae and Sarah Vaughan. Yaala's unique ability to improvise freely with lyrics, while playing with melodies, rhythms and tempos allows her to deliver songs in a fresh way each time.