Dianne Nola

Who is Dianne Nola?

Dianne Nola is an American singer-songwriter and voice over actor based in San Francisco, California. Though compared to Laura Nyro and Tori Amos in both poetics, strength and soul, her jazz and blues roots make her music challenging to categorize.

Originally from San Jose, California, her family moved to an agricultural area of the Central Valley in the early 1970s. During her high school years, she began writing and performing in cafés and restaurants. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz where she studied Theater and Music. While there, she had the opportunity to study with songwriter, Carole King.

She became active in the jazz scene after college, performing and fronting small ensembles. In 1986, she formed a duo with vocalist Gail Swain. They performed on the folk and Women’s Music circuit with a repertoire that included Nola’s originals as well as jazz standards.

She moved to San Francisco in 1990 to promote her new album, When Are You Gonna Move To L.A.? and to be a part of the burgeoning neo-folk scene. Within months, she assembled local jazz players to form Dianne Nola with Driving On Ice. Her song, Where Have My Years Gone?, recorded with the group, was chosen as one of the finalists in the Best of the Bay 1995 competition.