Paul Marinaro

Vocalist Paul Marinaro, dubbed as having "one of the most beautiful vocal instruments in the business today" by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune, is a modern classic. With Chicago as his home base, Paul has become one of the most in-demand and respected male vocalists and has "taken his place among the top five male jazz singers active today." (Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene)

Paul demonstrates a mastery of and an infectious passion for the material he chooses, allowing him to successfully command audiences with his fresh interpretations. At home, he is currently enjoying sold-out engagements in Chicago's world-famous venues, including Joe and Wayne Segal's Jazz Showcase, The Green Mill, Andy's Jazz Club, and at Winter's Jazz Club where he is currently in residence. He has been a featured performer at The Chicago Jazz Festival in 2014 and again in 2017 for an audience of 10,000 on the stage at the massive Pritzger Pavilion, where his performance with jazz legend Sheila Jordan earned rave reviews and was named "Best of 2017" (Chicago Tribune). He has earned "Best Performance of the Year" in the Chicago Tribune in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018; and "Best of Chicago 2015" in NewCity Magazine.

In 2013, Paul celebrated his widely acclaimed debut album Without a Song, a carefully crafted concept album stemming from and inspired by his father's unfulfilled dream to have been a professional singer. For this album, Paul incorporated the beginnings of his love affair with music, when at the age of five, he found his father's homemade 78rpm acetate discs in the attic, heard him singing "That Old Black Magic," and was mesmerized. This scratchy recording of his father's voice was Paul's first musical inspiration...and it was restored and used to open his debut album 66 years later. Without a Song has gone on to receive widespread acclaim and national airplay, was named among the "Best of 2013" in the Chicago Tribune and has been prominently featured on NYC DJ Jonathan Schwartz's "The Jonathan Channel." Now in its third pressing, the album was re-issued in late 2015 as deluxe, limited-edition, audiophile 2 LP Vinyl set. The album and its story went on to inspire acclaimed choreographer Ron De Jesus, who premiered his original dance suite "Without a Song: Mic Check 1, 2" in April 2014, with Paul and his quartet performing the music live. Released in October 2015, his first live album One Night in Chicago has also been critically acclaimed, being called "...a shining example of a male jazz vocal at the top of its game." (Midwest Record)

Since 2016, Paul has grown in national visibility and acclaim. He has enjoyed many highly regarded debuts across the US and Canada, including regular appearances at Toronto's Jazz Bistro, and most notably at the world-famous Birdland Jazz Club in NYC, where Paul performed to sold out and enthusiastic crowds. In Chicago, at the stunning Auditorium Theatre, Paul appeared in an all-star celebration of Cole Porter in 2016, and of Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne in 2017, and a Stephen Sondheim program in 2019.

Paul is also a featured vocalist with The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, appearing in many festivals and concerts, including a recreation of the live album "Sinatra at the Sands" at the historic Studebaker Theater in May 2018 for which he received rave reviews, again earning the "Best of the Year" distinction in the Chicago Tribune. 

For his July 2018 birthday concert, Paul returned to Birdland Jazz Club featuring special guest Sheila Jordan. The duo immediately demonstrated an uncanny and effortless rapport with one another and have since shared the stage on several memorable occasions. In 2019, Paul began the year with his debut at Jazz at Lincoln Center as the sole vocalist in "Piano Mater: The Oscar Peterson Story." 2019 also brought Paul debuts at Copenhagen's famed Jazzhus Montmartre, Stockholm's Konserthuset, and several shows in Canada, the United States and Europe celebrating the centennial of Nat King Cole.

Keeping busy during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Paul focused on his next project, which included his highly anticipated sophomore release, Not Quite Yet. A departure from what his audiences may be used to, Marinaro's vocals were on full display on this stunning album that featured arrangements by his long-time collaborator, Mike Allemana. Said Marinaro: "Different versions of this album have been in the works for quite a few years with starts and stops for a plethora of reasons, not the least of which being the global pandemic. As it was always intended to be, this album is an honest and intensely personal collection of songs which address themes and reflect on moods that are characteristic of me at this stage. Though these eternal themes of life, love, and the search for deeper meaning are common, these interpretations were colored and shaped by the circumstances in which we most recently found ourselves. Recalling the past...Wondering what's next...Stuck in limbo...Searching...This is Not Quite Yet."

Not Quite Yet released on October 28, 2022 and along with some beloved staples in Marinaro's performance repertoire (Taking a Chance on Love, On A Wonderful Day Like Today, Someone To Light Up My Life, a couple compositions from David Bowie and Paul's recorded debut of original lyrics (set to Ary Barroso's É Luxo Só and released as Searching) gave audiences a chance to see a different side of the singer they have grown to love. GRAMMY Award-winning journalist Neil Tesser says of his project: "Marinaro has made the album he needed to hear at a crucial point in our shared history - an entirely personal album that many others will need to hear too." Not Quite Yet launched at Chicago's stunning Studebaker Theatre.

A few short months after this release Marinaro was back with more new music, this time joining forces with the Metropolitan Jazz Octet for The Bowie Project. "Chicago's Metropolitan Jazz Octet partners with the acclaimed vocalist Paul Marinaro to create an inspired tribute to the durability and pure magic of David Bowie's songwriting legacy. Reinterpreting without replicating, due in no small part to Marinaro's riveting vocals paired with creative arrangements, the octet palette reveals transparency and intimacy, coaxing nuanced colors more indicative of a larger orchestra, laying out an inventive complement to Bowie's lyrics." The Bowie Project received rave reviews and brought audiences from all different realms of music together in celebration of the work of a beloved figure in music, expertly interpreted in ways that left audiences speechless.

Marinaro ended 2023 with a return to Europe and his first tour of a country very near and dear to his heart, Italy. With performances in Sorrento, Bari, Bacoli, Matera and Palermo, Marinaro's connection to European audiences was undeniable, as was his love for the appreciative and enthusiastic music fans he encountered throughout his travels.

Paul looks forward to more touring in 2024.