Piano and Vocal Jazz Duo

Piano and vocal jazz duo, with original songs, by Just a Touch of Jazz, share music drawn from jazz, Latin, blues, and pop, and standards from the Great American Songbook.

Original Songs:

Tiny Desk Contest Videos:
Originals by Just a Touch of Jazz duo

“Just a Touch of Jazz”: Our 2025 Tiny Desk Contest Entry

Hear our original songs submitted to NPR’s Tiny Desk contest. Click here to find them on YouTube. Click here to find the 2024 entry on the Tiny Desk dashboard. Stay tuned for the 2025 entry’s link on the NPR Dashboard.

The rules for entering NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest are that the song needs to be an original song by US writers/performers. Also, the video must contain a desk of some kind and the video itself needs to be created expressly for the contest. See the entry of this piano and vocal jazz duo on the NPR Tiny Desk 2024 site along with the other Minnesota artists!

“This Old House”: Our 2023 Tiny Desk Contest Entry

So, 2023 was our third entry into the Tiny Desk contest! “This Old House” is blues, plain and simple, with impassioned vocals and the terrific piano you expect from this piano and vocal jazz duo.

“Silence”: Our 2021 Tiny Desk Entry, piano and vocals

Piano and Vocal Jazz Duo, Just a Touch of Jazz, Matt Dorland & Susan LaVelle

The song and video for the song “Silence” came about after seeing the shocking video of George Floyd’s murder. In fact, the only reason this terrible deed came to light was because witnesses recorded cell phone video to share on social media. These witnesses broke the silence. Correspondingly, the title word, “Silence,” stands in contrast to action. Thus, “Silence” is indifference, apathy, detachment, dispassion. Therefore, the song expresses a call to “find a voice, not silence.” Matt and Susan encourage you to listen and share this song!

This video footage for “Silence” was taken by Susan as she walked 38th St. toward Chicago Avenue. With her phone, she captured all the chalk drawings, art, messages, and memorials to George Floyd that existed in December of 2019. The lyric video perfectly partners with the piano and vocals of the song.

Click for the 2022 Tiny Desk video for our original song, “Music Brings Us Closer”

Great American Songbook:

Stream Just a Touch of Jazz music everywhere!

Just a Touch of Jazz is found on all your favorite streaming services!

For more of our cover songs, check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustaTouchofJazz

Check out the “Music” page for more Just a Touch of Jazz. You’ll find clips and videos of Matt Dorland & Susan LaVelle’s piano and vocal jazz originals. Even more performances by the vocal and piano jazz duo are found on the YouTube page @JustaTouchofJazz. Keep scrolling to find links to our social media.