Lili Anel at World Cafe Live

Lili Añel considers music a calling. This six-foot tall singer-songwriter grew up in New York City where she discovered her passion for music. As a child Añel remembers singing along to her mother’s Cuban, jazz and pop standard albums. It was also her mother who supported Lili’s desire to join the church choir. However it was her grandfather’s recognition of how much joy singing brought to her being, which served to set her feet firmly on the path of a career in music. “My grandfather was very influential and instrumental,” says Lili. “When I sang in the church choir, he would sneak in to the Mass without telling me. I would ask him later, after letting him know that I saw him in the back, why he came to church at all and then left before it was over. His response was: ‘To hear you sing. I can hear your voice above the others.’”...

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Lili Añel considers music a calling. This six-foot tall singer-songwriter grew up in New York City where she discovered her passion for music. As a child Añel remembers singing along to her mother’s Cuban, jazz and pop standard albums. It was also her mother who supported Lili’s desire to join the church choir. However it was her grandfather’s recognition of how much joy singing brought to her being, which served to set her feet firmly on the path of a career in music. “My grandfather was very influential and instrumental,” says Lili. “When I sang in the church choir, he would sneak in to the Mass without telling me. I would ask him later, after letting him know that I saw him in the back, why he came to church at all and then left before it was over. His response was: ‘To hear you sing. I can hear your voice above the others.’”

Defying categorization, she calls her music a hybrid of jazz, folk, soul and pop combined with a powerfully unique vocal style bringing her to the forefront. Lili continues to win over audiences with her vocal stylings, guitar playing and songs while often recalling her many influences (Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Janis Ian, Joan Armatrading) and proving her own unique style. She has supported The Holmes Brothers, Boz Scaggs, B.B. King, Raul Midon and Robert Cray to name a few. She released her first CD “Laughed Last” on Palmetto records, following with “Hi-Octane Coffee” (2002) and “Dream Again” co-produced with Cooke Harvey (2007), both self-released. In 2007, JazzTimes Magazine said of Lili “her songs are consistently excellent.”

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