Tenor and soprano saxophonist Lisa Pollard, aka "the Saxlady," made a name for herself playing around the San Francisco Bay area for many years. In the early '70s, Pollard attended Laney College in Oakland and completed her studies in 1975 at Sonoma State University earning a degree in expressive arts. In 1979, she went on the road with the Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington, touring Japan and Europe. During this time, she backed up Sarah Vaughan, Eddie Fisher, Nancy Wilson, shared the stage with Harry Carney, Jessica Williams, and took saxophone lessons from Ben Webster. In 1993, Pollard released I See Your Face Before Me on the Concord label. For this date, Pollard assembled a band complementing her choice of swing, cool, and standards featuring Ray Brown, Benny Green, Grady Tate, and Red Holloway.