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Diana Hamilton
A Bahamian from Paris - Diana Hamilton Music
About Me
Diana Hamilton is a Bahamian-born, Parisian by choice, and an instinctive songwriter whose voice
carries the echoes of migration, resilience, and ancestral rhythm. Her music blends the soul of Billie
Holiday, the quiet strength of Nina Simone, the raw emotion of Amy Winehouse, and the playful
grace of Joséphine Baker when she sings in French — all infused with Bahamian cultural roots and
an unwavering sense of identity.
Hamilton often jokes that music found her, not the other way around. For years, she lived in Paris,
working as an English teacher, never imagining she would become a singer. But life — with its
strange turns — revealed otherwise. The defining moment came unexpectedly, while watching her
young son, Nairobi, face racism in a Parisian park. Overcome with emotion, Hamilton instinctively
began to sing — an ancient instinct passed down by those who survived through music.
“It came out of nowhere — rhythm, refrain, the whole text… I believe this is how our African
ancestors survived — they sang their way through suffering.”
That moment led to her first song, “Nairobi,” and eventually her debut album, A Bahamian in Paris.
The album, blending Bahamian percussion, Junkanoo, Parisian café culture, and global sounds,
quickly attracted critical attention.
WOMAD, the influential world music platform, described A Bahamian in Paris as:
“Charming genre-crossing from the Bahamian chanteuse… Calypso, reggae, lounge jazz, chanson,
zydeco, and Junkanoo gently waft out… Her voice, equally charming in English or French, sounds
not unlike a Bahamian cross between Ella Fitzgerald and Macy Gray… a refreshingly unpretentious
record.”
Though proud of her Parisian life, Hamilton’s heart remained anchored in the Bahamas — her
birthplace, often overshadowed in the Caribbean musical landscape. Encouraged by French
musicologist Daniela Langer, Hamilton returned home for the first time since age nineteen. The trip
rekindled her connection to Bahamian spirituals and ancestral songs, leading to the formation of
The Diana Hamilton Trio, performing Rhyming Spirituals and work songs at Musicaor, Radio
France, and beyond.
In 2020, after nearly a decade of life’s interruptions, Hamilton released her second album, Babylon
Café, produced by DJ Dang — a bold project merging tradition and modernity.
Dan Behrman, TED Audio Magazine, praised the album:
“Anything but trivial… Babylon Café is a virtual bridge between two generations — Dang’s beats
and Diana’s soulful, nostalgic voice — creating hybrid music that is vibrant, interesting, and
harmonious.”
The album features standout tracks like “Motherless Child,” where Hamilton infuses a spiritual
rooted in history with a contagious groove, “Seeline” honoring Nina Simone, and “Rake 'n Scrape
Please,” celebrating the 100% Bahamian style Hamilton has helped revitalize.
In 2013, Hamilton created the Cat Island Accordion & French Camp, a completely free initiative
offering workshops with world-class accordionists and Bahamian tradition bearers — the last pole
bearers of a musical legacy born from the accordion, goatskin drum, and carpenter’s saw. Her
mission: to ensure that young Bahamians from all walks of life recognize their shared ancestral
roots and cultural inheritance.
The gift Hamilton received for her efforts was profound — a renewed, matured voice, a deeper
intuitive ability to channel songs, and the unexpected embrace of audiences in her own homeland.
Now, after years dedicated to preserving endangered traditions, Hamilton returns to the musical
and jazz scene of The Bahamas, grounded in experience and guided by the rhythms of her people.
Her latest project, The Bahamian Trilogy, is more than music — it is a socially engaged artistic
statement, designed to shake, awaken, and revitalize her people, using rhythm as both reflection
and a call to action.
As French songwriter Florian Lacour affirms:
“Diana Hamilton brings kindness, humour, and mischief… this Bahamian in Paris sings with
rhythms all her own — jazzy, calypso, reggae — while reminding us of the history of her people.”
Today, Hamilton’s music bridges continents, traditions, and generations — carrying forward
ancestral songs, while creating new rhythms that heal, connect, and inspire.
My Jazz Story
My House Concert Story
I attended this amazing concert with Nina Simone in Paris. I got to meet Nina, who called me herself after she read the letter I wrote her. I rode with her in her Cadillac and spent time with her in her suite at the Grand Hotel in Paris. She told me all her woes, and I continue to feel for her and other artists who get exploited and hurt because everyone wants a piece of their skin. I remember an impromptu concert I hosted at my producer's place in Montreuil, France, with Archie Shepp. It was amazing. Unfortunately, my then- producer spoiled everything by recording Archie without his permission that night and then refused to let him have a copy of the video. Archie had planned to bring me on stage with him, but ended all communication with me after that.
