You might know her as a renowned breakthrough lesbian comedian, but LEA DELARIA also happens to be the one terrific jazz singer. On Play It Cool (Warner Bros.), backed by contemporary jazz's best players, DeLaria makes an auspicious major-label debut featuring many songs not ordinarily associated with jazz, from Broadway and composers such as Stephen Sondheim to pop and songwriters such as Randy Newman and Tom Waits.

But then again, DeLaria has never been ordinary. Whether she's leaving theater-goers numb with her exuberant stage performances or amazing nightclub audiences with her interpretation of jazz standards, DeLaria leaves an indelible impression on everyone who sees her work. The summer of 1997 brought her national attention and critical acclaim in her breakout role as Hildy in On the Town, a Public Theater production for New York's Shakespeare in the Park Festival. She reprised the role in the fall of 1998 at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway. Earlier that year, she performed as Big Mama Morton in the national tour of Chicago. DeLaria's one-woman show It's Delightful, It's Delicious, It's DeLaria has played to sold-out houses across the country, and she was the first openly gay comic to appear on national television, including the Arsenio Hall Show and Comedy Central's Out There, which she hosted.