Kira Small

12+ albums

female vocalistsamericanunder 2000 listeners

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about

Kira Small is an artist who has always been at home in many styles of music. Trying to choose just one placed limitations on her expression that were too binding so she threw up her hands and began to forge her own. Like many of her heroes - Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles - Kira has always aspired to transcend stylistic boundaries and just sing it however it needs to be sung. Though she doesn't sound like a white chick from Wisconsin, Kira grew up outside of Milwaukee listening to country and folk music, even going so far as to write a letter to Loretta Lynn asking for advice on how to become a country singer – she was about 9 then. Junior high brought pop and R&B into her ears and out of her mouth. It was, however, at Milwaukee’s High School of the Arts that Kira’s musical world was blown wide open when she left the 'burbs and hit the city. She heard and sang in gospel choirs for the first time. She was encouraged to explore improvisation as a vocalist and pianist in several of MHSA's award-winning jazz ensembles. She got her first Aretha Franklin record and hasn’t been the same since. So great was her delight in this new musical world, she followed it to Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Kira became the first ever freshman member of its prestigious Vocal Jazz Ensemble, performed as a soloist in Berklee’s Country Ensemble, and sang in countless other soul and R&B revues and recitals. While on summer break from Berklee, Kira landed a gig at Fiesta Texas in San A