There is nothing quite like the sultry, soothing sound of jazz music. Maybe it makes you want to grab your partner and sway along under the moonlight, or maybe you just prefer to sit back and relax with a glass of wine as you listen to the music float across the air. No matter how you like to enjoy jazz, you will thank yourself if you check out these three female vocal artists this summer.
Sylvia Brooks
A classic jazz vocalist with a commanding stage presence, Sylvia Brooks’ career as a jazz singer was practically written in the stars. After all, she is the daughter of father who played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and a mother who was a trained opera singer and performer at the Fontainebleau. Brooks’ own career began when she joined the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Since then, she has completed multiple national tours and released two LP albums, Restless and Dangerous Liaisons. You’ll be able to listen to her own brand of jazz, which she dubbed jazz Noir, when she released her new album at the end of the summer.
Esperanza Spalding
Although she’s been on the scene for some time, Esperanza Spalding is still somewhat of an unknown to new or casual fans of female vocal artists. Spalding, a singer, bassist and cellist, began her career by playing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon. She released her debut album, Junjo, a decade ago and has continued to crank out beautiful music since.
Jane Monheit
A native of New York, Jane Monheit first came onto the jazz scene when she took first runner-up in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s vocal competition in 1998. In 2000, she released her debut album, Never Never Land. Since then, she has continued to perform with some of the greatest jazz singers of today.
Make an evening of it the next time you listen to some jazz. Turn down the lights, grab a bottle of your favorite bubbly and let the voices of these three female vocal artists float you away to paradise.
A classic jazz vocalist with a commanding stage presence, Sylvia Brooks’ career as a jazz singer was practically written in the stars.
