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Suzanne Cloud

Suzanne is a singer-songwriter and Director of the Philadelphia Jazz Legacy Project

About Me

Suzanne Cloud is an editor, writer, historian, and jazz singer-songwriter who lives in Collingswood, NJ. Since receiving her doctorate in American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, Cloud has authored four young-adult American history books and was a contributor to the African-American National Biography Project for the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University. She's a long-time contributing writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and founding director of Jazz Bridge, a nonprofit that aids local Philadelphia-area jazz and blues musicians in crisis. She wrote and directed “Last Call at the Downbeat” (a show about Dizzy Gillespie's sojourn in Philly) for the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2013. Since 2018, Cloud has been the director of the Philadelphia Jazz Legacy Project, a nonprofit dedicated to building a Philadelphia jazz archive.

Suzanne is still singing in the Philadelphia/New York area and has recorded 6 albums since her first release in 1996.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it's improvisational music and listeners can touch the souls of the artists if they pay close attention. I was first exposed to jazz when I heard Sarah Vaughan sing "I'll Remember April" on the Johnny Carson show. I was totally flipped out. The best show I ever attended was Ahmad Jamal in New York City with pianist Eddie Green. We had just been at the Village Gate to see Wendy Simon and Eric Spiegel and popped in to the club Lush Life...wow! Then we hung out at Bradley's with Buster Williams and Cedar Walton. What a night!!! The first jazz record I bought was Sarah Vaughan "Live in Japan." Best cut? "Willow Weep for Me" She forgets the words, and scats - killing it! My advice to new listeners is to follow your ear and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!