Brenda Earle Stokes

Brenda Earle Stokes

Musicians | Instrument: Piano and vocals | Location: New York City

Stokes revs up on eclecticism, centering her jazz improvisation and pop-jazz adventures…shimmers with energetic scatting and cheery piano.

—Downbeat Magazine

Updated: April 28, 2024

Born: October 22, 1976

Brenda Earle Stokes is a rare jazz artist with a true command of both the voice and the piano.  Hailed as “a breezy delight” by Time Out New York, Brenda’s music is rooted in the jazz tradition with influences ranging from Brazilian music to music theater and rock radio.

As a bandleader she has toured clubs and festivals across the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and has released 6 albums own her own label.  Widely considered to be one of the top singer/pianists in the field, Stokes is back with her first album of completely original songs.

In her latest album Motherhood, Brenda shares the journey of motherhood with songs exploring identity, fear, expectations, body image, friendship and growth.  Rooted in her native language of jazz, Stokes drew additional inspiration from singer-songwriters, music theater, spoken word and 1960s protest songs.  Each song is richly orchestrated by a four-piece ensemble jazz ensemble which provides an energetic backdrop for Stokes’ material which is at once honest, thought provoking and laced with humor.

Brenda Earle Stokes has performed as a side person with John Riley, Dick Oatts, Joel Frahm, Roxy Coss, Wycliffe Gordon, Maurice Hines and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.  She has held residences at the Kennedy Center and Banff Center for Fine Arts, was a finalist of the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition and was a winner of the IAJE Sister’s in Jazz competition, identifying her as one of the top emerging jazz artists of her generation.

Brenda Earle Stokes’ musical curiosity has led her to professional work as a choral conductor, classical vocalist, church organist, off Broadway music director, early childhood music teacher and cruise ship piano bar entertainer.  These seemingly unrelated musical experiences have helped develop her versatility and fluency as both pianist and vocalist.  “While jazz is my first love, I feel passionate about making music in many different realms.” Scratching this musical itches has deepened Stokes’ abilities and helped her to be a more fluent artist. 

Brenda Earle Stokes’ musical life started at age 4, when her parents enrolled her in classical piano lessons.  Hearing Oscar Peterson for the first time at age fifteen prompted an immediate shift to jazz. After focusing on jazz piano at York University in Toronto, Brenda ventured to the Banff Center for the Arts for a month long jazz residency in the mountains. It was there that she first performed as a vocalist, a huge step for her as an artist. “I really wanted to be taken seriously as a jazz pianist and I didn’t want anything to take away from that. When I stood up and sang for the first time at Banff, it felt so liberating to me that I knew there was no going back.”

Read more

Tags

All About Jazz Articles

6
Album Review

Shawn Maxwell: Expectation & Experience

Read "Expectation & Experience" reviewed by Jack Bowers


On Expectation & Experience, his tenth recording as a leader, Chicago-based woodwind specialist Shawn Maxwell is accompanied by almost thirty musicians—but never by more than three on any of its seventeen tracks. Maxwell says the compositions were written during the global Covid-19 pandemic, and the musicians were mustered singly, most in their own homes. While each of the compositions has a “theme," none is readily apparent from its performance, and listeners should feel free to overlook that aspect and focus ...

2
Album Review

Brenda Earle Stokes: Solo Sessions Volume 1

Read "Solo Sessions Volume 1" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Canadian Brenda Earle Stokes is, at once, a pianist, vocalist, composer, and educator, not to mention a wife and mother. From this crowded life, she has managed five recordings to her credit, including the well-received Song for a New Day (Self Produced, 2009) and Right About Now (Magenta Label Group, 2014), and the present, Solo Sessions, Volume 1. Solo Sessions puts Stokes in her most intimate format, one that she mentions is a bit daunting. That is something to consider. ...

5
Album Review

Brenda Earle Stokes: Right About Now

Read "Right About Now" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Is Brenda Earle Stokes primarily a vocalist, a composer, or a pianist? That's an unanswerable question if ever there was one. The marketplace typically forces artists to list their chief credential first, making it easier to categorize and pigeonhole them, but that's a problem for Stokes; she's equally talented in all three areas, as demonstrated throughout Right About Now. This album marks Stokes' return to recording after a five year hiatus. During that time, her life, outlook, ...

346
Album Review

Brenda Earle: Songs For A New Day

Read "Songs For A New Day" reviewed by Marcia Hillman


Brenda Earle has a well-trained, sweet-sounding, pure voice and piano and songwriting skills that are displayed ably in this, her fifth album. The New York-based Canadian native is abetted by Ike Sturm (bass), Jackie Lewis (guitars) and Jared Schonig (drums), as well as guest appearances of one track each by saxophonist Joel Frahm and cellist Lauren Riley-Rigby. The material is an array of standards, original compositions and covers of songs by Top 40 artists ranging from Crowded House ...

Read more articles
158

Performance / Tour

Pianist/Composer/Vocalists Deanna Witkowski and Brenda Earle Share a Sacred Jazz Double-Bill at Cornelia Street Caf on Thurs, Sept 10 at 8:30 PM

Pianist/Composer/Vocalists Deanna Witkowski and Brenda Earle Share a Sacred Jazz Double-Bill at Cornelia Street Caf on Thurs, Sept 10 at 8:30 PM

Source: Michael Ricci

What: Deanna Witkowski Quartet and Brenda Earle’s Sacred Voices with Felipe Salles, soprano and tenor sax; Ike Sturm, bass; Scott Latzky, drums (Deanna Witkowski Quartet); Julie Hardy, Jonathan Kline and Nathan Hetherington, voices; Keith Ganz, guitar; Ike Sturm, bass; Jared Schonig, drums (Brenda Earle’s Sacred Voices) When: Thurs, Sept 10 from 8:30-10:30 pm Where: Cornelia Street Caf, 29 Cornelia St, New York (A, B, C, D, E to West 4th; 1 to Christopher St) Cost: $10 admission Witkowski has combined ...

64

Performance / Tour

Brenda Earle's Debut Performance at Sweet Rhythm, October 9th Sets at 8PM and 9:30PM

Brenda Earle's Debut Performance at Sweet Rhythm, October 9th Sets at 8PM and 9:30PM

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Brenda Earle's Debut Performance at Sweet Rhythm, October 9th, 2007 88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker St) New York, NY 10014 (212) 255-3626 Sets at 8pm and 9:30pm

Canadian-born, New York-based jazz pianist/vocalist/composer Brenda Earle will be making her debut at Sweet Rhythm on Tuesday, October 9th. Featuring an all-star line-up, the group will perform an eclectic and riveting array of original compositions, jazz standards and modern arrangements of works ...

“Stokes revs up on eclecticism, centering her jazz improvisation and pop-jazz adventures…shimmers with energetic scatting and cheery piano” – Downbeat Magazine

“This music speaks to artistic sophistication while addressing the quiet comforts of the medium.” – Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

“The result is nothing short of outstanding with Brenda taking full control of her direction and creating a piece of contemporary jazz that is refined and seductive.” – The Jazz Music Blog 

Read more

Primary Instrument

Piano and vocals

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Contact

Publicist

Orange Grove Publicity

Concerts

  Thu, May 16
New York, NY
Brenda Earle Stokes Motherhood Album...
DROM
Thu, May 16. 6:00 pm

Music

Happy Mother's Day

From: Motherhood
By Brenda Earle Stokes

Solo Sessions Volume 1

From: Solo Sessions Volume 1
By Brenda Earle Stokes