Philadelphia jazz singer Joanna Pascale discovered her love of storytelling at age 15, when she heard her first Billie Holiday record.

"I was attracted to the lyrics, and the passion behind them. I guess I was an overdramatic teenager," she said in a telephone interview. "That record just opened a floodgate."

Twelve years and a music degree later, Pascale's enthusiasm for emotional narrative still burns bright. She'll be singing some story-driven, swing-infused standards from 7 to 10 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Cove on Millcross Road.

"We're excited to have her," said Keith Mohler, who books the Cove's jazz acts and will play bass in the restaurant's house trio when Pascale comes to town. "She has a beautiful, unique voice, and she's one of the most promising young performers in the Philadelphia area."

Pascale began her career at a performing arts school in Philadelphia, soon after hearing that influential

Holiday record.

"My mom and I were actually living in New Jersey at the time, so when I decided I wanted to go to the high school, it was a big move for both of us," she recalled.

At school, she studied music for four periods each day, and she took private lessons when not at school. She went on to earn a degree in jazz vocal performance from Temple University, where she now teaches voice.

Pascale has regular gigs in the greater Philadelphia area, including some shows with well-known York saxophonist Tim Warfield. Her first, self-produced record, "When Lights Are Low," drew praise from critics, who labeled her one of the region's premier young jazz artists. She is currently working on a record that features Warfield's arrangements.

As with Pascale's live act, the record will showcase lesser-known songs she thinks people should  hear.

"I like to seek out one-of-a-kind items that have a history: antiques and vintage clothes, old vinyl records of songs that no one has ever heard of," said Pascale, who has unearthed considerable treasures during her years of investigation and antiquing.

Take, for example, her discovery of a 1963 Jimmy Scott record, "Falling In Love Is Wonderful," which some critics maintain should have made Scott a household name. The operative words, of course, are "should have."

Born in Cleveland in 1925, Scott is afflicted with Kallmann's Syndrome, a hereditary condition that stifles hormone development, preventing those afflicted by it from reaching sexual maturity. The effects include stunted growth, a decreased or absent sense of smell and a failure to reach puberty.

Consequently, Scott's voice didn't change. His clear, unforgettable alto intonation — filtered through his very expressive interpretations of the music — is wholly unique and earned him the admiration of jazz luminaries such as Holiday, Dinah Washington and Ray Charles.

In fact, when Charles launched his Tangerine record label, he invited Scott to record with him. And when the record was finished, the stars seemed to be aligning for Scott.

"'Falling In Love Is Wonderful' was amazing. The critics who had heard it said that it was up there with Billie Holiday's 'Lady in Satin,' and Frank Sinatra's 'In the Wee Small Hours,'" Pascale said. "But it didn't turn out as planned."

Under pressure from Savoy Records executives who claimed contractual rights to Scott's work, Charles pulled the record off the shelves just days after its release, and the album fell into obscurity.

Although it has since been re-released, following a comeback aided by Lou Reed, David Lynch and other fans of Scott's work, the original pressings are hard to come by. That spelled a happy challenge for Pascale, who read about the album in Scott's autobiography and was transfixed by his story.

"As soon as I hear a story like that, I'm on a mission to find the record," she said.

And so she peppers her set lists with the narrative songs she unearths.

"I have a really nice vinyl collection because I'm a hunter. It's in my nature. I'm always working, always moving," Pascale said. "A lot of people are lazy, in terms of their research. But there's such a rich history to the music that is there, if you're willing to go look for it.

"When I get it in my mind that I'm looking for something, I somehow find it. I think, in a lot of ways, you create your own reality."