Laura Shaffer

Singer/recording artist Laura Shaffer was born and raised in Las Vegas. Her father had been a professional musician, arranger, and musical director on The Strip for many years already, and she had the benefit of growing up around “the business”. She studied three different instruments and a little dance in her youth, but finally found that singing was the way she could best share her love of music with an audience. She began auditioning at 19 and got her first lead in a show that year. Her early years in the industry were spent building and polishing her talents and being mentored by show business veterans, and she never looked back.

 

She has performed and continues to perform in all its major hotels: The Palazzo, Mandalay Bay, The Wynn, The Cosmopolitan, The Mandarin Oriental, Bellagio, Four Seasons, MGM, etc., as well as popular off-Strip casino resorts such as The Palms, Red Rock Casino Resort, and Green Valley Ranch Resort. In 2014, her sold-out concert at Las Vegas’ nationally renowned performing arts venue, The Smith Center, was broadcast to subscribers around the world by Yamaha. She has since returned to perform there in Myron's several times, as well as Reynolds Hall.  She has opened for such icons as Tony Bennett, Bob Newhart, Wayne Newton, J Lo, and Donny and Marie, and was chosen as the single performer to represent Las Vegas in the Emmy-winning CNN show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown “Las Vegas” episode. She has entertained such diverse celebrity clientele as all-star quarterback Drew Bledsoe and Grammy and Oscar nominated tenor Andrea Bocelli at their own private parties.

 

Having gathered a multi-generational fan base with her glamorous Old Hollywood look and her swinging & sultry take on the great jazz and swing standards, she also performs special engagements across the US, and has entertained at countless galas, celebrity launches, corporate events, and charity benefits. From showrooms to ballrooms to lounges, from small combo to big band, the “Noir Nightingale” enthralls with the glamour of Golden Era Hollywood, the glitz of mid-century Las Vegas, and an engaging vocal style full of warmth, sophistication, magnetism and charm. She is the owner of Midnight Refrain, a media and consumer content company that focuses on the 1920s through the 1960s in music, print, and related products, including her popular “Golden Hollywood Portraits” and “Vintage Pinup” Laura Shaffer pictorial calendars. She is currently in production with a new album.

 

Laura’s musical ability comes by way of her father, pianist/arranger/recording artist Charlie Shaffer, who has written arrangements for the likes of Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, and The Houston Symphony Pops Orchestra, and been accompanist and Musical Director for Peggy Lee, Lola Folana, Joe Williams, Jackie Gleason, Debbie Reynolds, and others.

 

 

Press:

Featured in the Emmy-winning CNN production, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Season 3, April 2014, “Las Vegas”.

 

“…Sultry jazz singer and one-of-a-kind performer Laura Shaffer—the Noir Nightingale. A true entertainer, Shaffer is recognized not only for her musical talent, but her overall style and persona that effortlessly captures the glamour and allure of the Golden Era. Shaffer’s vintage look and warm vocal style has earned her a successful career performing in all of the major venues on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as an international fan base.”

- Yamaha Corporation of America

 

“Shaffer’s following…ranges from Old-Vegas enthusiasts to jazz purists.” “Laura Shaffer looks and sings like your favorite femme fatale from a film noir, but black and white can turn Technicolor for Christmas. Her "Vintage Christmas"… is sure to be packed…”

- Mike Weatherford, Las Vegas Review Journal

 

“When Laura Shaffer sings, it’s like stepping into a time machine. Your head begins to spin a bit, the eyes go aflutter, and the next thing you know, you’ve been transported to an era when music was melodious and fashion was glamorous but not gaudy. It’s like stepping into a film noir, except she’s in living color.” “…she cast her timeless spell over all within her range for a pair of standing room only shows. Already a veteran performer at major corporate events and top casinos, Shaffer exudes the grandeur of the golden eras of American music, not just in sound and style, but in looks and persona as well. In many ways you might say she was born 50 years too late, but the past’s loss is truly the present’s gain. Laura Shaffer is refreshingly ours to enjoy right now.”

- Arthur J. Bloberger, Nightlife LasVegazine

 

“Ideal for those looking for a taste of the Golden Age of Vegas.”

- UK publication Essentially America

 

“Wearing an elegant vintage evening gown, high heels and elbow-length satin gloves, flowers tucked into her coiffed brown hair, Laura Shaffer personifies the music she brings to the stage…Her Noir Nightingale quartet breaks into a jazzy tune from decades past—maybe something from the songbooks of Cole Porter or Duke Ellington—and Shaffer delivers the lyrics in a voice that matches her beauty and grace.”

- Hubble Smith, Vegas Seven

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Mobile: (702) 324-1127

Email: lubbajean@hotmail.com

Website: www.laurashaffer.com

Facebook: Laura Shaffer Noir Nightingale

Instagram: @laura_shaffer_noirnightingale