Suzie Telep

Member Since: 2023 | Location: Chicago | Page Views: 562

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About Me

French-Cameroonian vocalist & songwriter blending multilingual jazz, soul, and French chanson.

Suzie Telep is a French-Cameroonian vocalist and songwriter whose music weaves jazz, soul, gospel, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms into a rich tapestry of sounds. Singing in English, French, Basaa, Creole, and more, she takes audiences on a vibrant multicultural journey filled with joy, belonging, and self-affirmation. Inspired by legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Dianne Reeves, Angélique Kidjo, and Miriam Makeba, she first enchanted the Parisian jazz scene at iconic clubs like 38 Riv’ and Péniche Marcounet, captivating listeners with her powerful voice and dynamic stage presence. Now based in Chicago, Suzie brings her cross-cultural storytelling to new audiences, exploring Afro-fusion improvisation, jazz standards, French chanson, and contemporary repertoire through her unique, soulful voice. She performs at venues like Clara, Epiphany Center for the Arts, Fulton Street Collective, the CheckOut, and Alliance Française de Chicago. By day, she is a professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois. Praised by Saint Barth Weekly as “an outstanding multidimensional artist,” she is currently preparing her debut EP, Afropean Travel. For the full EPK/music website, videos, and upcoming shows, see: www.suzietelepmusic.com

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Explorer

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319

Favorite Musicians / Bands

Alyssa Allgood

Suzie Telep

Telep

My Jazz Story

I am a French-Cameroonian jazz singer from Paris, now based in Chicago. When I discovered jazz at a concert in a Parisian club, I fell in love with the music! I started studying it, listening to it, and going to live performances and exploring the Parisian jazz scene. Then I formed my first jazz quartet after years of singing pop soul songs for cover bands. One of the best jazz shows I ever attended was Dianne Reeves's concert at the Jazz à la Vilette festival in Paris in 2017, and I have seen her many times since then... She is my absolute favorite contemporary jazz singer! One of my favorite jazz records are: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, In the Moment by Dianne Reeves, Light Up the Night: Live In Marciac by Dianne Reeves, For One to Love by Cecile McLorin Salvant, and the Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley album. After living in Paris for decades, I am truly happy to live in a new city like Chicago with such a great jazz and blues scene, to perform here and enjoy live music!