Roslyn native Sheri Miller celebrated the release of her new CD, Mantra, with two live shows, one held at The Living Room nightclub in Manhattan and the other in Los Angeles at The Hotel Café.

Both performances were highly successful with Sheri and her band playing to enthusiastic audiences.

The famous New York venue was packed to the back curtain for the Big Apple launch party of Mantra, a six-song collection blending hypnotic bluesy American soul with classic British melodic-pop. Ten days later, the Left Coast got the same news at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles.

At the Living Room, Sheri's originals from the CD received a lustrous and sympathetic backing from Sheri herself on guitar, piano and vocals; Jeff Allen, bass: Doug Yowell, drums; Thad DeBrock, guitar; Dave Eggar, cello; and Olivia Arciero, backing vocals.

Sheri, wearing a red dress, brought her trademark intelligence and precision to the Mantra suite. Eggar's cello deftly underlined the intelligent romanticism of her songs, in a touch that recalled George Martin's arrangements on classic Beatles records. The show concluded with a solo acoustic rendition of the Bruce Springsteen classic, "I'm On Fire."

A similar effect was achieved in LA, in a show notable for Sheri's pitch-perfect vocal performance, perhaps the best of a career in which she has continuously sought a demandingly high level of precision in her own vocal efforts.

Sheri's first official EP, Mantra is a record whose elegantly sculpted songs looks at life and love with the hard edge of experience balanced by the gentle touch of ever-present hope. The six songs of Mantra sit in the tradition of an entire generation of exceptional and authentic artists, from the Beatles to Elvis Costello to Norah Jones and Fiona Apple, reflected through Sheri's light-filled prism.

For Sheri, the EP is the culmination of years of studying classic popular songs from Cole Porter to Coldplay, playing hundreds of shows in whiskey bars, coffeeshops, rock clubs and larger music theaters, until a naturalness and ease of delivery was won. The result that has emerged is Sheri's own musical vocabulary.

Those interested in purchasing Sheri's "Mantra" CD can go to: cdbaby.com/cd/sherimiller, iTunes or Amazon.com. They can also visit www.sherimiller.com or myspace.com/sherimiller to buy a CD or for more info.

Sheri's CD has received advance praise both here and abroad. Mark Fogarty of brokeruniverse.com calls the EP, "Riveting" and "daring" and Ms. Miller a "young, talented performer."

Street Voice, a music magazine from The United Kingdom adds: "So much talent...I'm surprised no label has picked up on her sound."