Results for "Jazz Vocalist"

Janet Stevenson

Born: March 20

Janet’s passion for the music is shaped by a lifetime of listening to and performing jazz, and an education from some of its finest performers. She credits her sense of swing, great ears and pitch to her father, a jazz drummer who insisted that she study piano before learning to sing. Janet's talent was first recognized by world-renowned bassist Cleveland ("Cleve") Eaton, and she began singing regularly both with Eaton's band and with other jazz musicians in Birmingham, Alabama. She credits vocalists Shirley Horn, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae as major musical influences

Kalya Ramu

Born: August 14, 1993

Kalya Ramu, Canadian jazz vocalist, composer, educator, and visual artist, has carved out a distinctive presence within Toronto's vibrant jazz community. From the age of 12, Kalya found herself immersed in the world of jazz, frequenting jam sessions and touring with community big bands. Her musical journey led her to study Jazz Performance at the esteemed Humber College in Toronto. A storyteller at heart, Kalya has a remarkable ability to reinvent classic jazz tunes while infusing her original compositions with fresh, evocative narratives.

In 2019, Kalya released her debut full-length album, "Living in a Dream", generously supported by FACTOR. Shortly after this release, the title track was featured on the soundtrack of CBC show "Frankie Drake Mysteries." Her second album, "Duo" (2021), is a close collaboration with pianist and composer Ewen Farncombe. The five-track album of original material highlights their artistic synergy. In the past year Kalya released two singles with Brazilian guitarist André Valério. The first, "Algo Contigo” (2023), features the composition of Argentinian songwriter Chico Novarro, and the second “Hold Me Close” (2024) is an original composition by Ramu and Valério and features the playing of flutist Rob Christian. Currently Kalya has been working on a brand new album called Trio, coming out on November 29 2024.

Andrea Claburn

Born: December 14

Born in Baltimore, Maryland to a classical pianist mother and a jazz aficionado father, Andrea Claburn knew what she wanted to do by the age of four. “I started begging my mother to let me to take piano lessons. She would play Chopin and Beethoven, and I would go to the piano when she was done and try to recreate what I’d heard. I wanted to play so badly.” Her mother finally relented when Andrea reached the ripe old age of six. “My mom was very smart. She said, ‘you’re not ready’ when I was in preschool. She was the opposite of a pushy stage mom. By making me wait to study piano, she made it clear that it was a privilege and I should treat it accordingly.” Meanwhile, her father introduced her to his favorite jazz artists: Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, the MJQ, Bill Evans

Linda Solotaire

Born: January 10, 1963

Linda Solotaire is a jazz vocalist and the leader of the Linda Solotaire Quartet. She also performs repertoire with her musical partner, arranger/guitarist & bassist Stu Greenspan, a jazz duo with Saalik Ziyad and more.. Linda is classically trained in music and theatre, and began her career as an actress in the late 1970s. As a solo jazz vocalist, she is most deeply influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Abbey Lincoln, Sheila Jordan, and Judy Garland. While the Great American Songbook is at the heart of her repertoire, she strives to infuse her sets with more obscure, contemporary and original songs. Linda is a vocalist, band leader, curator, and teacher

Maureen Renihan

Born: April 21, 1975

Maureen is a native Pittsburgher who recently returned to the area from Boone, NC. She acquired a love of old standards through her experience performing in theatre. Later she turned to jazz for creative expression and began performing professionally in 2012.

Stella Heath

Singing since the age of eight, Stella feels wholly blessed to be able to express herself through music and song, and to carry forth the torch of Jazz Music that she loves so dearly. She grew up in the North San Francisco Bay Area, steeped in her mother’s eclectic music collection; some of her early musical influences were Louis Armstrong, Edith Piaf, Buena Vista Social Club, Billie Holiday, Tom Waits, Bod Dylan and Ella Fitzgerald. Her education was primarily in Acting at Interlochen Arts Academy and Syracuse University, where she received a degree in classical acting and cultural geography

Anthony Jefferson

Born: August 5

Anthony Jefferson is a person who cares about music, people, and animals. He wants to make a difference in the world and live life to the fullest. The New Orleans native, began singing in his childhood, in an environment rich in: Jazz, Blues and Contemporary R&B, refining it later by studying classical repertoire at the California Institute of the Arts, with Paul Vorwek and continuing at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Prior to forming his own band, Anthony shared the stage with artists such as Mark Rapp, Wille Jones 3rd, Mark Shelby, Bobby Wilson and Brent Rose, just to name a few. The velvety smooth voiced vocalist´s journey through jazz is one of passion, love, attempting to unite different cultures, and bringing harmony to the world through his music.

Janine Gilbert-Carter

Born: September 25, 1960

Janine Carter was introduced to gospel, Jazz and blues at a very early age by her parents and grandmother. This Pennsylvania native cannot remember a time when music was not a part of her very existence. She began her musical journey like so many contemporary artists as a member of the choir at her church in Aliquippa, PA. She also had the opportunity to expand on her solo performances as a member of the Bach Choir of PA which performed some of Broadways most exciting musicals. Janine continued to use the gift she was given to perform at various functions and special events until she relocated to the Washington, DC Metropolitan area in the summer of 1988

Julia Lashae

Born: July 22, 1969

What the critics are saying about Julia Lashae: #3 CD of 2003! “Warm, simple arrangements frame and complement Lashae’s angelic voice on an intimate program that exudes sophistication and charm. Her precise phrasing, pure tone and sunny disposition make “Introducing…Julia Lashae” the vocal event of the year.” -Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans “It’s refreshing to hear a modern jazz crooner who doesn’t sound like a B-grade Vegas vocalist. …The CD has found its way onto my player at various times, but mostly when seeking something soothing and calm

Nicola Emmanuelle

The talents of Nicola Emmanuelle have been obvious for some time to the many artists, producers and musical directors who have been using her crystalline voice for studio albums, film and television work, and now the public can enjoy one of the finest voices yet to be signed to a major record label at some of the foremost Jazz venues across London. Having just finished a stint at the Haymarkey Theatre and then on a UK wide tour for most of 2018 playing Ella Fitzgerald in the Rat Parck Live at Las Vegas to rave reviews, Nicola is back to finishing her new album in the studio, writing new original material with a number of co-writers, and performing live around London with her band the Nicola Emmanuelle Quartet. Nicola has a sensational set of songs evoking the work and sound of the original jazz pioneers of the thirties, forties and fifties, along with stunning and beautiful renditions of some of the all time great jazz standards. Coming from a South African jazz dynasty, (her Father Nathan ‘Dambuza’ Mdledle was the founder and lead singer of the Manhattan Brothers) London born Nicola attended the Cleo Laine school of music followed by the Bourne school of music and Goldsmiths foundation, and enjoyed a Classical training by Elizabeth Anderson Kramer. Despite her enormous versatility and numerous genre changes for various projects, Nicola retains a deep desire to follow in the classic jazz styles she grew up with and has always loved. Her understanding of the feel and swing of the best of the past, and her own contemporary iconic style and individuality adds to and supports a voice of mesmerising purity and beauty. Comfortable in all types of live situations, Nicola makes a speciality of singing accapella and is capable of incredible scat solos when the mood takes her. She can touch an audience with a torch song, before drawing them back to laughter with her endearing and graceful humour. Nicola has a way of sticking you to the spot, and always wanting more; you stay there until forced to leave. Many acts have recently tried to encompass the enduring appeal of the great jazz singers and writers - few if any, have the capacity or talent to do it with such authenticity or affection as Nicola Emmanuelle.