Updated: March 10, 2026
Born: September 16, 1965
Louise Alexandra is a Dutch-American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and cancer research scientist balancing two worlds with equal passion.
During 15 years in Boston's biotech and jazz scenes, Louise released two albums under the mentorship of the late master jazz vocalist Rebecca Parris: Destiny (2012) and Today (2020), both directed by Rebecca and recorded with some of Boston's finest jazz musicians at PBS Studios.
Since returning to the Netherlands, where she continues developing cancer therapies, Louise pursues her musical path with renewed focus. Her third album, Crazy World of Love (March 2026), features collaborations with Dutch jazz pianist Rob van Bavel and his trio - Frans van Geest (bass), Vincent Koning (guitar) - along with Marcel Serierse (drums/percussion) and Jan Menu (saxophone).
The album blends original compositions with reimagined standards and vocalese, all beautifully arranged by Rob van Bavel. Louise wrote new lyrics to music by Rob and Emmet Cohen, with special guest Benny Benack III bringing vocals and flugelhorn to Angel of Mine (based on Emmet Cohen's Little Angel).
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Louise Alexandra: Today
by C. Michael Bailey
From Destiny to Today ...Vocalist and composer Louise Alexandra's Today requires a bit of unpacking. In 2012, a wunderkind polymath named Louise van Aarsen released a debut recording, Destiny, receiving positive critical attention. Known as Dr. Louise Koopman in her day job as Sr. Research Scientist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and in the Boston biotech scene, the singer Van Aarsen proved richly multifaceted. At the time, a Dutch expatriate, the singer sought the counsel of another singer ...
Continue ReadingJazz Singer/Songwriters Part I: Louise Van Aarsen and Rebecka Larsdotter
by C. Michael Bailey
We can only hear “My Funny Valentine" so many times presented in so many manners. Writer Scott Yanow, in his book The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide (Backbeat Books, 2008), called for a moratorium on singers recording this and several other songs because, like “Stairway to Heaven" and “Freebird" (for those from behind the Cotton Curtain), we have heard these songs enough. One way that an artist may address standards fatigue is to avoid them altogether and write their own ...
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