Caught between the dream of an unfettered future in Europe, gleaned from stories she devoured from her Grandmother’s book shop, and her past in Texan Baptist military boarding school, Hailey arrived in Europe twelve years ago feeling like a dragon fly caught in amber.

She cut her teeth in Paris at eighteen, buoyed by the same supportive artistic community of her heroes Josephine Baker, Louise Brooke, and Blossom Dearie. A chance encounter with a Countess at eighteen led her to singing in palazzos in Venice, late night costume parties – occasionally scantily clad on a table – and of course underground cabaret venues. Yearning to graduate to the next step, she wrote a fortuitous email to legendary producer Larry Klein, who’s name she found on the back of the CDs of her contemporary heroes, Madeleine Peyroux and Melody Gardot. After reading her jazz manifesto, Larry invited her to contact him, ‘If she was ever in LA”, and in typical obsessive spirit, she immediately jumped on a flight. He championed her forward into a record deal with Sony, and the resulting debut album, “Junk” saw Larry Grammy nominated for Producer Of The Year. Already lauded for her live shows and tipped by Interview, Nylon, People magazine and Marie Claire, and with televised performances alongside Björk, The Breeders, Diva Mahal and Jools Holland, Hailey is on a mission to turn jazz on its head.

Her new self-produced EP, “Coquette”, to be released this March, is an interim exploration of the elusive balance artists must find between their work, mental health, and the unromantic nuts-and-bolts duties of life. Containing both originals and covers, it touches on both her love of the darker side of jazz, accents of dreamy folk-pop, while maintaining Hailey’s evocative playful Story-Telling, and introducing her audience to a new internal creative strength and maturity.

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