Marion Rampal

Marion Rampal, born in Marseille in 1980, is a French jazz singer, composer, and songwriter whose art crosses borders between genres and traditions. While her own compositions carry nuances of folk, blues and chanson, she has expressed herself in the jazz tradition touring with Archie Shepp, and also revisited classical repertoire. 

Raised in a musical family where lullabies echoed Michel Legrand and her grandfather played Nat King Cole at the piano, she discovered early on the intimate link between song and emotion. As a teenager she sang with her high school choir, toured in France and Europe, and began writing her own songs in English, inspired by artists such as Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, and Leonard Cohen.

She discovered Marseille’s jazz scene and encountered saxophonist Raphaël Imbert, founder of the Nine Spirit ensemble, with whom she went on to have a long-lasting collaboration. She honed her craft studying at the IMFP and at the Conservatory of Marseille, while developing her unique voice as an interpreter and songwriter. In 2009 she released her first album Own Virago, a work of original compositions that announced the singular path she would follow. In 2012 she became part of the Attica Blues Big Band of saxophonist Archie Shepp, and in the following years toured with the legendary saxophonist in a variety of formations.

With Main Blue in 2016, recorded alongside Anne Paceo and pianist Pierre-François Blanchard, Rampal delved into the “gestures of the blues” and the cultural landscapes of Louisiana. Since 2020 she has found in guitarist and producer Matthis Pascaud a creative partner with whom she has shaped two albums to date, Tissé and Oizel. Engaged in a poetic dialogue between memory and invention, word and melody, and influenced by the francophone traditions of the Americas—creole, cajun—she unfolds her singular style between jazz-folk, blues, and chanson, continually weaving connections between diverse musical worlds.

Parallel to this work, Marion Rampal has pursued genre-bending projects with classical musicians. With Pierre-François Blanchard she recorded Le Secret, an intimate duo exploring the borderlands between chanson, lieder, and jazz. She has collaborated with the Quatuor Manfred on Bye Bye Berlin, revisiting cabaret songs of the 1930s, and has taken part in Le Salon Idéal, a collective initiated by Arièle Buteau to reimagine chamber music through eclectic encounters. These projects illustrate her ongoing curiosity for dialogue across genres while remaining unmistakably herself.

She was awarded the Victoire du Jazz as Vocal Artist in 2022, and her 2024 album Oizel received critical acclaim, earning a “Choc Jazz Magazine” distinction.

Today Marion Rampal continues to craft music that blurs the boundaries of genre, affirming her place as one of the most original and captivating voices in contemporary jazz.