Orbit | Updated: September 5, 2026
Born: December 15
Kathy Ingraham is an eclectic American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer based in New York. Originally from a coastal town in Maine, she is highly regarded for her intimate vocal delivery and inventive genre-blending compositions.
Career Highlights
- Early Success: Her 2017 debut album Cool Night established her presence, blending jazz and pop with elite New York studio musicians.
- Film Exposure: Her original song "Little Things" was featured in the 2019 film The Professor, bringing her music to an international audience.
- Discography: She has released four distinct albums dedicated to the genre, including Paper Doll (2020) and Everlasting Cool (2022) and Cool Night (2017).
- Latest Album: Jazz Dreams (2026)
Her latest project, Jazz Dreams, was released on March 15, 2026, through Peirdon Records. The album is a bold, conceptual collection that transforms iconic rock and pop classics into adventurous jazz arrangements.
- The Inspiration: The idea sparked after she watched the 1943 Oscar-winning short film Heavenly Music, which posits that great melodies transcend their original genres. Further inspiration came from hearing Steven Tyler sing casual jazz riffs during a piano performance.
- Track List: Key transformations on the record include Aerosmith’s "Dream On," Led Zeppelin’s "Stairway to Heaven," Laura Nyro’s "Eli’s Coming," The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday," and a reinterpretation of her own film track, "Little Things Redux".
- All-Star Collaborators: The album features legendary guest artists, including trumpet virtuoso Randy Brecker, pianist Pete Levin, drummer Joel Rosenblatt, guitarist Elliott Randall, and harmonica player William Galison. Her daughter, Lily Del Rosso, provides prominent backing vocals
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Kathy Ingraham: Jazz Dreams
by Richard J Salvucci
Occasionally an album comes along that is different and original, but not contrived. It can be unusual, but somehow familiar. Jazz Dreams is that kind of recording, a blues treatment of several canonical rock tunes that evokes shades of Blossom Dearie and Nina Simone with a touch of Steve Winwood's Traffic. Kathy Ingraham--who has imagination, chops and pipes to spare--manages this alchemy, doubtlessly a big part of her talent. Putting players like Randy Brecker and Evan Christopher into the mix ...
Continue ReadingKathy Ingraham: Everlasting Cool
by Richard J Salvucci
If you have a lovely mezzo-soprano voice, lots of chops, a feel for selling a song, a talent for storytelling, and some sense of why tradition is what it is, you end up with Kathy Ingraham. Ms. Ingraham is also not afraid of the big no-no, singing standards (and, lo and behold, their verses too), although she has been known to write her own material too. Whatever the case, she is a treat to listen to and, with a nonpareil ...
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Kathy Ingraham Evokes Jazz Dreams In Her New Release
Source:
Kathy Ingraham
Eclectic jazz chanteuse and composer Kathy Ingraham returns with the release of her latest album, Jazz Dreams, marking her fourth album dedicated to the genre. Ingraham employs jazz arrangements to revisit rock ballads of cultural and personal significance. The project was initially inspired by the artist’s happenstance viewing of the 1944 Oscar-winning best short film, Heavenly Music, which tells the tale of a bebop jazz band leader (Ted) who must justify his entry into the heavenly Hall of Music before ...
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The Unique 'Everlasting Cool' Mystique Of The Elusive Kathy Ingraham
Source:
Powderfinger Promotions
As a session singer in New York City, millions have heard her voice on TV commercials and movie themes. She prefers singing behind the glass fortress of a recording studio, the happy place for this very private person. Getting her to talk about herself or credits and accomplishments in the past is nearly impossible. When asked, she quotes Alice In Wonderland “It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” What we do know is ...
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Vocalist Kathy Ingraham's Inspiring New Jazz Album, 'Everlasting Cool' Is Out Of This World
Source:
Powderfinger Promotions
“Everlasting Cool features Kathy Ingraham in top form.” —Scott Yanow Out of this world jazz vocalist and composer Kathy Ingraham returns with the release of her third solo album, Everlasting Cool. Adding to the catalogue of her debut album Cool Night (2017) and follow up album Paper Doll (2020), which are comprised primarily of original works, she wanted to pay homage to the artists who have inspired her as a composer. Maintaining the style that is uniquely her own, Everlasting ...
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Press Release Jazz Dreams March 2026
Eclectic jazz chanteuse and composer Kathy Ingraham returns with the release of her latest album, Jazz Dreams, marking her fourth album dedicated to the genre. Ingraham employs jazz arrangements to revisit rock ballads of cultural and personal significance. The project was initially inspired by the artist’s happenstance viewing of the 1944 Oscar winning best short film, Heavenly Music, which tells the tale of a bebop jazz band leader (Ted) who must justify his entry into the heavenly Hall of Music before a committee of elitist classical composers. Ted’s goal is to gain “eternal residence into the sanctum sanctorum of music.” Ultimately Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Bach Wagner et al are convinced to perform their own interpretations of Ted’s jazz tune in their own notable styles. This inspired Ingraham’s genesis for Jazz Dreams proving the film’s theory that a great song can transcend genre with her interpretation of iconic rock songs. At once nostalgic and innovative, the album approaches these songs with a refreshing interpretation, revealing colors and shadows of lyric and melody that were previously obscured by the songs’ original styles. Each one featured is familiar and yet features a sensitivity that only Ingraham’s experience, both musical and personal, can offer. Her unique vocal style has been compared to Nina Simone for its mighty richness and Blossom Dearie for its whimsical, intimate quality. Her voice offers a wide bouquet. “She swings a velvet hammer” Ingraham defies the restrictions of genre just as naturally as the timeless melodies with which she converses. This mellifluous dialogue with the past includes "Dream On" (Aerosmith), "House of the Rising Sun" (famously recorded by the Animals), "Ruby Tuesday" (Rolling Stones), "Eli’s Comin'" (Laura Nyro) and "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin). The album also features two original songs including "Little Things", featured in the Johnny Depp film The Professor, which earned her an international fan base to include over 120 countries, along with Melusina, an ethereal homage to a mythical ancestor from whom she descends through the House of Plantagenet. In Jazz Dreams, Ingraham evokes magic with talented musical collaborators to include Randy Brecker (Fluegelhorn), Pete Levin (Piano, Bass), Elliott Randall (Guitar), Joel Rosenblatt (Drums), Evan Christopher (Clarinet), Matt Wensor (Guitar), William Galison (Harmonica) and Lily Del Rosso (Backing Vocals).
