Results for "Vocals"

Mary-Catherine Pazzano

Born: November 6, 1988

For the past decade, Mary-Catherine has been working steadily as a performer, freelance vocalist, music educator, vocal coach, and music director. Performance highlights include the American debut of Songs for My Mother Off-Broadway at Symphony Space (NYC), jazz performances at the iconic Birdland Jazz Club (NYC), and headliner at: Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, Jazz Bistro (Toronto), The Rex (Toronto), The Jazz Room (Waterloo), and The Registry Theatre (Kitchener). She has toured North America and New Zealand as a performer and workshop leader, and has been a featured soloist with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Mary-Catherine has been lucky to share the stage with jazz notables including Billy Stritch, Mark Eisenman, and, classically, the world-renowned Penderecki String Quartet.

Bobby Faria

Born: February 3, 1955

Raised in Newport, Rhode Island by two very musical parents, Bobby has been playing music since the age of 5 or 6 when he used to jam with his Mom and Dad in the living room. Little Bobby would strum his toy ukulele while Tony, his father, stretched out on violin or guitar and Lolly, his mother played the piano and sang. Later, for a short time while in junior high school, his parents rented a tenor sax for him to play in the school concert band. The music wasn't all that motivating to a 13 year old, but the experience of playing that horn was the beginning of a lifelong love of the sound of the tenor saxophone. However, the popular music of the late 60's and early 70's was strongly pulling him toward the electric guitar. 

It was during his high school years that he realized how much he loved performing live when he started singing and playing his guitar with a few local Newport rock bands. Later, after college and a move from Newport to Boston for a career in computer software, he discovered many more opportunities to get out and perform.  So, after work, he began putting himself out there at the many jam sessions available to him in the "Big City" and he managed to achieve quite a bit of notoriety as a guitar slinger.  The jams allowed lots of people to see what he could do and it led to offers for gigs on the active Boston music scene.  He's still going strong.

Roberta Brenza

Roberta Brenza has long been a supporter of the arts, always a jazz fan who loved to sing, growing up in a household filled with the songs of Ella Fitzgerald and other vocalists from her father’s record collection.

While raising her two sons, Roberta spent two decades involved in volunteer work, including membership on nonprofit performing arts boards in Boulder, Colorado. All the while, she quietly nurtured a secret, long-held dream to make jazz a leading focus in her life. One of her first forays was organizing a private youth jazz combo for her then middle-school-aged sons. This inspired Roberta to enroll in a jazz combo class of her own and later, private lessons and workshops.

Roomet Jakapi

Born: April 18, 1973

Roomet Jakapi is an experimental vocalist and free improviser based in Estonia. He has performed with many talented improv musicians, including Rieko Okuda, Antti Virtaranta, Kris Kuldkepp, Guilherme Rodrigues, Emilio Gordoa, Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen, Tom Blancarte, Beat Keller, Chris Pitsiokos, Fred Frith, Jerzy Mazzoll, Sławek Janicki, Girilal Baars, Roman Stolyar, Dario Fariello, Elo Masing, Teemu Mustonen, Taavi Kerikmäe, Mart Soo, Niels Præstholm, Theodore Parker, Jukka Kääriäinen, Jonas Van den Bossche, Lauri Hyvärinen, and Ilia Belorukov

Germana Stella La Sorsa

Italian singer Germana Stella La Sorsa started performing in Italy at an early age, working her way up through the Italian jazz scene (ultimately performing at the side of jazz guitar giant Franco Cerri) and on moving to the UK in 2017, quickly established herself on the London jazz scene.

"Nudging boundaries as she goes” (The Slow Music Movement) and exploring “the crossroads of many musical components, including story, composition, genre and style as well as instrumentation and effect” (London Jazz News), La Sorsa released her debut album 'Vapour' in 2021 on 33 Jazz Records.

Heather Ferguson

Born: October 28, 1959

Called a “jazz sensation” by one writer, with another calling Heather Ferguson’s music, “lush, expertly performed, with an engaging setlist and…she will fill the room with her silky-smooth notes”.  Heather’s journey to music was long and winding but the singer, based in Victoria, Canada, is becoming known for her interpretations of great 20th century songs.

A family move took Ferguson from Toronto to a new home in Victoria, Canada, where she was one of the first to enroll in jazz vocals at the Victoria Conservatory’s newly opened Chywll Contemporary School.  After that it was just layers and layers of music for years after. During that time she found like-minded musicians who wanted to start a band so she cornered the great bassist Joey Smith at a gig one night to ask him to coach.  

Walt Pitts

Born: October 22, 1960

Live Music Pro | Guitar Coach | Content Creator

Walt Pitts is a dynamic solo performer and guitar coach whose music captivates audiences through a blend of technical mastery, heartfelt performances, and a genuine passion for inspiring others. With an extensive repertoire spanning multiple genres, Walt brings versatility and energy to every stage and screen.

Known for his YouTube live performances, Walt delivers engaging musical experiences that combine live playing, storytelling, and interactive elements. His channel also features curated content for music enthusiasts, including guitar tips, performance highlights, and resources for aspiring musicians. Walt’s commitment to sharing his knowledge extends beyond performances, with personalized coaching and a growing online community.

Vienna Carroll

Born: September 26, 1954

Vienna Carroll’s folksy blues and soulful funk take you back to her Black church roots. Her passion and masterful storytelling light a fire in your soul. She interweaves old songs and forgotten stories of Black heroes to serve up Black history with a Serious Groove.

Vienna learned music from the Black Ladies of her youth, including her fearsome great grandmother who played guitar to Grand Ole Opry radio every Saturday night but only proper Pentecostal chords on Sunday. At her Alabama grandmother’s 125 acre working farm, Vienna joined in the Sunday church services an hour’s drive away down a dusty road, where singing was often accompanied only by the hand clapping and shouting of its fervent members.

Vienna formalized her studies of early Black music at Yale University, with a BA in African American Studies

Noa Levy

With a beautiful, rounded voice and a magnetic stage presence, NOA LEVY is a unique and charismatic vocalist and performer who sings across genres – Jazz, Rock, Cabaret, Musicals, and Pop. She has set a worldwide digital release date of August 17, 2018, for her recently recorded debut TAKE TWO EP, a thoughtful collection of Jazz arrangements featuring NOA LEVY in a duo format with three different instrumentalists. Drawing on influences from her favorite musicians and artists including Peter Gabriel, Brad Mehldau, and Carmen McRae, NOA LEVY has developed her own signature arrangements of classic and unique tunes to paint a picture that anyone listening can relate to

Clara Fornander

Born: May 6, 1992

Clara Fornander is a Swedish jazz singer based in Stockholm. In 2020 she finished her jazz bachelor studies at the Royal College of Music (KMH) in Stockholm. She plays in both bigger concert halls and smaller jazz clubs, and is regarded a fresh addition to the recent jazz scene in and out of Sweden. Clara grew up in the south of Sweden. During her upbringing Clara spent most of her free time playing the violin, piano and singing. In her teens her interest and work in jazz music started growing. Nowadays she is composing and performing her own music and takes inspiration from all of the improvisational genres including folk and neosoul