Courtesy of Scott Craig

Leah Randazzo's voice jumps and glides through cool chord changes.

How many touring acts have played both Roanoke's Blues BBQ Co. and New York City's Blue Note last month? Only one that we know -- the Leah Randazzo Group.

Randazzo, 24, and her six-piece band from Northampton, Mass., played the Blue Note on July 19. They played Blues BBQ last week, and they'll be back tonight for a free show.

The band includes three hip horn players, working from arrangements by bass player David Picchi. But the key to the mix is singer/songwriter Randazzo, whose hot/sweet voice jumps and glides through cool chord changes.

The group has played a handful of shows at Roanoke nightspots for about three years, bringing a jazzy-soul mix that evokes thoughts of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu as much as it does Randazzo's hero, Stevie Wonder. Randazzo said the act, touring behind its CD, "At the Root," is already working on its next Blue Note booking, and she hopes her Roanoke fan base keeps building, too. Go to this story at roanoke.com/entertainment to hear song samples.

Below is our e-mail Q&A with Randazzo.

Q: How did you find this style of music? Through family or friends? Are you a record store junkie?

A: Hah! I would say the No. 1 reason I found this type of music is through family -- particularly my dad. He is a musician and a multi-instrumentalist and has played with a number of amazing artists over the years. He plays many styles including jazz/soul, but his bread and butter as a music listener is jazz. I grew up with everything from Eric Dolphy to Thelonious Monk to Nina Simone -- I was really lucky to be exposed to this music so early on and throughout my life.

Q: Some of the stuff you're doing reminds me of neo-soul artists such as Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, etc., but maybe more complex musically. Where do you look for inspiration and ideas when you're writing?

A: Wow, it is great that the music reminds you of those women -- they are both AMAZING artists. I am very inspired by the music they make -- truly unbelievable.

I get a lot of my inspiration from life experience, as I'm sure most do -- love, frustration, hope, etc. Sometimes I write in some abstract way about my experiences being a young touring musician, a female in my position, etc. There are a lot of things I can write about lyrically ...

Musically I am inspired by sounds of all sorts -- but I definitely gravitate toward jazz and soul. I am a sucker for melody and that is the most important thing to me -- my melodies are what shape these songs for me, both lyrically and musically.

Q: Please talk about how this band came together. How did you find the guys, and has this been a pretty steady lineup?

A: I found most of the guys out in the western Massachusetts area when we were all going to college. A bunch of them played in a funk cover band that played the party circuit, and I met them through that. I showed them some of my original material, and they responded with enthusiasm and great ideas of their own.

For the most part it is a steady lineup, although we have rotation in some of the seats -- particularly tenor sax and guitar.

Q: Your guitarist sang a tune at Blues BBQ the other night and sounded really good. You commented after that the band should do that more often. Any plans for you two to duet?

A: Hehe -- as I said before, one of our rotating spots is the guitar! Our guitarist for this Southeast run is an amazing young player named Ryan Hommel. Not only can he play his ass off, but he has a voice as sweet as honey! I hope we do some collaborative singing in the future.

Q: I read a recent interview with you in which you talked about having played the Blue Note, in New York City, for years a mecca of jazz-based music. You said your group played *after* McCoy Tyner. Nothing against you guys, but how does McCoy Tyner wind up opening for the Leah Randazzo Group?

A: None taken! We were very fortunate to have been booked at the Blue Note for their Late Night Groove Series. This is a series that happens at midnight every Friday and Saturday night. It is sort of separate from the regular lineup -- believe me, McCoy Tyner didn't *open* for us! That was an AMAZING night. We were able to see McCoy's set and meet some of the band -- there was amazing energy -- and the history in that room is profound.

Q: This will be at least your fourth show in Roanoke. Do you feel like the audience is building for your band, and are people here buying your CD?

A: Yes! We love playing in Roanoke. We have great CD sales and enthusiastic audiences every time. Roanoke really feels like a city we could start to play more regularly and build up a fun and fabulous fan base. We look forward to our upcoming performances in the city.