Anna Laura Quinn Brings Jazz Intimacy and Innovation with New Album

By Robert White, Editor-In-Chief

New Orleans-based vocalist Anna Laura Quinn is redefining jazz storytelling with the upcoming release of Just… Quinn & Barrett, a nuanced and intimate album created in collaboration with guitarist Ed Barrett. The album—arriving July 11—offers a deeply personal, genre-spanning collection of music that reflects Quinn’s eclectic journey as a late-blooming jazz vocalist and arranger. It’s a rich sonic statement that brings together decades of musical influence, careful curation, and a friendship forged in the stillness of pandemic isolation.

Known for her expressive voice and layered artistry, Quinn didn’t follow a traditional path into music. Raised in San Francisco in a home where Ella Fitzgerald and Joni Mitchell played as often as Bach or the Beatles, Quinn originally studied visual art at NYU and only began exploring her voice seriously in her mid-twenties. “It wasn’t until I moved to New Orleans in 2010 that I really began to find myself as a musician,” she says. That discovery took shape through years of study, including a master’s degree in Jazz Studies at the University of New Orleans, and a decade-long commitment to honing her voice and vision.

Just… Quinn & Barrett is a product of that commitment. Quinn and Barrett, who have been performing together since 2018, began building what they jokingly called their “Anna and Ed Mixtape” during the pandemic—an evolving setlist of songs from across genres that held shared emotional resonance. The album’s eleven tracks, recorded in sessions spanning May 2023 to May 2024, are a snapshot of that intimate collaboration, produced by New Orleans guitarist and educator Brian Seeger.

From a spare and haunting interpretation of Tears for Fears' “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” to a swinging reimagining of Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things,” the album balances reverence with reinvention. Patsy Cline, Dr. John, Duke Ellington, and Joni Mitchell all find a home here, stitched together by Quinn’s velvety vocals and Barrett’s distinctive guitar tone—often delivered through a Telecaster in homage to his hero, Ed Bickert.

Despite the stylistic diversity, the album feels cohesive. “Somehow, because it’s him and I—and with Brian’s help—it all comes together,” Quinn explains. “There’s this thread of jazz that holds it all in place, but it reaches into pop, folk, soul, even a bit of psychedelia.”

The duo’s stripped-down arrangements create space for raw musical conversation. “Jazz is about spontaneity and communication,” Quinn says. “Even with just two people, we’re creating something dynamic. Some moments are big and energetic, others feel like a whisper. It’s all part of the story.”

While Quinn is no stranger to New Orleans' vibrant bar and club scene—where she also fronts the soulful party band The Unmentionables—she’s moving increasingly toward curated concert experiences that allow for deeper listening. “There’s a joy in the bar gigs and improvising based on the energy of the room,” she says. “But there’s a different kind of intimacy when the audience is sitting down, really leaning in.”

Her artistic evolution is grounded in a clear sense of identity. “I didn’t imagine this life when I was younger,” she says, “but now I feel more like myself than ever. I’m letting go more on stage, trusting the music to come through.”

Quinn & Barrett will support the album with a summer tour beginning July 25 in Rochester, NY, with stops in Syracuse, Glens Falls, Burlington, and more to be announced. As always, fans can find tour dates, videos, and updates at annalauraquinn.com or follow @ALQsings on Instagram.

Whether performing swinging standards, jazz-inflected folk, or reworking pop classics into something entirely her own, Anna Laura Quinn is charting a path that is wholly authentic—rooted in tradition but unafraid to explore the unknown.

Listen to the full interview with Anna Laura Quinn on The Savoir Faire Audio Experience.