She was special right from the start. In fact, on January 2nd, 1960, Leora Cashe was the New Years Baby for Mannville, Alberta, becoming an instant celebrity in this small Canadian farming community. The local minister, who happened to be Leora’s father, encouraged her to sing in church choir, where her voice stood out above the rest. She sang the lead narration in her kindergarten class production of ‘The Flower Shop Window’, which received a glowing review from the local paper. It was clear Leora was born to sing.

Leora attended Carcross Community School, an Anglican Church alternative education program, nestled in the Carcross Valley, Yukon Territory. From this truly northern experience it was off to the rugged British Columbia coastal rainforest, where she attended Powell Lake Farm School. It was during this time, while strumming on her guitar, she wrote her first songs.

Leora was drawn to music school in 1979 in a bid to find herself. “I’ll study voice at music school until I figure out what I’m supposed to be doing,” she reasoned. Leora fulfilled that quest when she graduated from Edmonton’s Grant MacEwan jazz program, and also when her accomplishments, new skills and talents led to performances with the Tommy Banks Big Band on CBC radio and TV.

Leora met her longtime husband/collaborator, Jaye Krebs, while performing in Alberta and in 1985 the couple moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. With a young family to care for, Leora took a hiatus from professional singing to raise her two beautiful daughters, Adrien and Marli.

This dynamic performer was then cast by Dean Regan in two electrifying productions at Vancouver’s prestigious Arts Club Theatre, ‘Black and Gold 2’ and ‘Santa’s Got Soul’. In New Westminster, Leora… “brought down the house” in her role as Miss Stacey in the Royal City Musical Theatre production of ‘Anne of Green Gables’. From there, her voice shone in a joint production of the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, BC, and Theatre One in Nanaimo, BC. As the critics tell it, Leora was… “shaking the audience to it’s core” in the title role of 'A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline'.

Leora’s debut recording ‘Tears of Joy’, was released in 2000 and is a collection of songs to stir the soul. This ten-song compilation takes the listener on a journey that showcases Leora Cashe’s gorgeous voice and distinctive original songs. In 2001, The West Coast Music Awards nominated her debut CD for Best Gospel Recording of the year. Most recently, 2004 marked the release of Leora’s second gospel CD, ‘Inspiration’, which is receiving critical acclaim by enthusiastic listeners at home and abroad.

This world class singer has recently released her debut jazz recording entitled, 'My Heart Stood Still', in the spring of 2005. The CD features Vancouver’s top-flight jazz musicians Russ Botten/bass, Tony Foster/piano, Craig Scott/drums, Miles Foxx-Hill/bass, Ross Taggart/piano, as well as New York drummer Jon Wikan.

With her engaging personality and distinctive sound, Leora Cashe is an electrifying vocalist and a note-worthy talent in our growing Canadian jazz scene.