Results for "Jazz Singers"

Cynthia Rafaella

Born: August 14

With a warm, full voice and passionate overtones, Cynthia Rafaella's artistry and musical styling creates a tapestry of vibrant color and mood that’s sure to uplift the masses.

Cynthia Rafaella first made a name for herself performing alongside some of the most talented musicians on the New York jazz scene in the 1990’s. Cynthia Rafaella has performed with musicians such as Bill Lee, Rahn Burton, Arturo O’Farrill, Chip Crawford, James Weidman, Dennis Davis, Roy Hargrove, Justin Robinson, Miles Griffith, Winard Harper, Philip Harper, Stephen Scott, Dwayne Burno, and many others. Also, Cynthia Rafaella studied under talented jazz artists such as Andy Bey, Sheila Jordan, Norman Simmons, Ann Marie Moss, Daniel Carillo, Mike Holober, and Nancy Marano.

After enrolling in a jazz workshop at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in the early 1990's, Cynthia Rafaella found herself immersed in classic jazz standards and the Great American Songbook. She also attended the jazz workshops of legendary pianist Barry Harris. Her jazz education continued at the “University of the Streets” in the East Village where she attended a jazz singer’s workshop. She'd work on tunes with a trio and was mentored by a continuous stream of seasoned jazz veterans whom she would later perform with, including Juini Booth, Gil Coggins, Burt Eckoff, and Clifford Barbaro. Cynthia Rafaella also performed regularly at late-night jam sessions which provided her with opportunities to jam with some of the most talented musicians on the New York jazz scene at that time. These encounters eventually led to weekly Monday night performances at the famed Village Gate nightclub and a spot as a featured singer with The Harper Brothers Band during an engagement at Condon's nightclub in 1993.

Cynthia Rafaella also studied under the mentorship of Bill Lee, the acclaimed bassist and composer. One afternoon, singer Miles Griffith invited Cynthia Rafaella to accompany him to a rehearsal at Bill Lee's home. That rehearsal would be the first of many. From 1993 to 1995, she sang first soprano in Bill Lee's vocal group, “The Family Tree Singers”. She attended weekly group rehearsals, as well as some one-on-one music lessons with Bill Lee. The vocal group performed excerpts from his folk-jazz operas and other original compositions, with Bill Lee conducting from behind his bass. Bill Lee often referred to Cynthia Rafaella as his “head trumpeter” and he composed a ballad solo that highlighted her vocal range. Bill Lee was known for his work with Odetta, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, and many others. He also scored the soundtracks for some of the films of his son, Spike Lee.

Looking to further develop her musicianship, Cynthia Rafaella auditioned for Ron Carter “one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history” and other faculty members of The City College of New York and was accepted into the Jazz Program. During this time, she was showcased at Birdland as an up-and-coming jazz vocalist. And in her senior year, while singing with The John Motley Chorus, she had the opportunity to perform with legendary drummer Max Roach and his quartet. 

Mharlyn Merritt

Born: March 30, 1950

Mharlyn Merritt is a vocalist with roots in Jazz, R&B and Classic Soul who has lived in London and New York and now creates music, novels and poems in her hometown of Philadelphia, PA.

Daughter of world-renowned Jazz bassist/composer, Jymie Merritt (Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie), Mharlyn Merritt is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Fellowship in Jazz Performance and an Interdisciplinary Arts Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. With the band Messenger, led by guitarist/composer Richard Lee Steacker (Grover Washington Band), Mharlyn opened for Hugh Masakela, Eddie Palmieri, and Richard Beltzer among others. During the disco-era her voice graced the background of numerous sessions at Philly’s legendary Sigma Sound Studios.

Jazz Singers

Label: Extreme Music Library
Released: 0