Jazz Articles about Emma Smith

About Emma Smith

Album Review

Some singers are so distinctive that it is tough to find the proper adjectives to describe them. Emma Smith has a memorable and arresting voice. She has, as musicians say, 'something,' which is a style that leaves no room for doubt. Second, she is not afraid of being herself and out there for all to hear. She controls the time; the time does not control her. And third, well, she is sort of the Larry Csonka of jazz singers. Right ...

Album Review

Emma Smith: Meshuga Baby

Read "Meshuga Baby" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
July 8, 2022

In early 2012, Emma Smith, already an established member of Britain's National Youth Jazz Orchestra but still only 21 years old, released her debut album. The record mixed standards with Smith's own compositions and established the London-based artist as a talented singer and songwriter. Another album would usually have been expected within a year or two, but it would be another decade before the second album, Meshuga Baby, saw the light of day. It's been worth the wait: Smith's early ...

Album Review

Emma Smith: The Huntress

Read "The Huntress" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
March 12, 2012

"Experienced" is seldom an appropriate adjective to apply to a 21 year-old performer, but it's perfectly apposite when applied to singer and composer Emma Smith. She began singing with a big band at the age of 14 and was, barely a year later, a mainstay of Britain's National Youth Jazz Orchestra. With the support of musicians such as Sir John Dankworth and Nikki Iles, and an ever-increasing list of club and festival performances, Smith is rapidly becoming one of the ...