List of jazz vocalists
Encyclopedia
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- Oleta AdamsOleta AdamsOleta Adams is an American soul, jazz, and gospel singer and pianist.-Biography:Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised with gospel music. In her youth her family moved to Yakima, Washington, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth.Before gaining her opportunity to perform,...
(born 1953) - Karrin AllysonKarrin AllysonKarrin Allyson is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including The New York Times, which has called her a "singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation."-Career:Allyson grew up in...
(born 1963) - Michelle AmatoMichelle AmatoMichelle Amato is an American vocalist; she trained at the University of Miami School of Music. She has toured and/or recorded with numerous artists including Quincy Jones, Jon Secada, Liza Minnelli, Al Green, Sandi Patti, Jon Hendricks, Donna Summer, Michael McDonald, Celia Cruz, Rita Marley, and...
- Lila AmmonsLila AmmonsLila Ammons is a blues and jazz vocalist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ammons is the granddaughter of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons and the niece of tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons....
(born 1958) - Ernestine AndersonErnestine AndersonErnestine Anderson is an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than five decades, she has recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She has sung at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival , as well as at jazz festivals all...
(born 1928) - Ivie (Ivy) AndersonIvie AndersonIvie Anderson was an American jazz singer. She was best-known for her performances with Duke Ellington's orchestra between 1931 and 1942....
(1904–1949) - Ernie AndrewsErnie AndrewsErnie Andrews is an American jazz, blues, and pop singer. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, and one of his first jobs was with the Harry James orchestra. He went on to be recorded by Columbia Records and others...
(born 1927) - Ken Ard (born 1960)
- Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
(1901–1971) - Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
(1899–1987) - Patti AustinPatti Austin-Life and career:Austin was born in Harlem, New York. She made her debut at the Apollo Theater at age four and had a contract with RCA Records when she was only five. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have proclaimed themselves as her godparents....
(born 1948) - Ethel AzamaEthel AzamaEthel Azama was an American jazz and popular singer and recording artist. She sang regularly in nightclubs and other concert venues between the mid-1950s and 1984. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and was of Okinawan ancestry...
(1934–1984)
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- Erykah BaduErykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
(Born 1971) - Mildred BaileyMildred BaileyMildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...
(1907–1951) - Pearl BaileyPearl BaileyPearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
(1918–1990) - Anita BakerAnita BakerAnita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....
(born 1958) - Chet BakerChet BakerChesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
(1929–1988) - Josephine BakerJosephine BakerJosephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
(1906–1975) - Cris BarberCris BarberCris Barber is an American jazz singer on the 37 Records label. Cris won the Orange County Music Award for Best Jazz in 2004, and received nominations in 2005, 2006 and 2008...
(born 1961) - Patricia BarberPatricia Barber-Discography:* Split Premonition Records * Distortion of Love Antilles * Cafe Blue Blue Note, Premonition Records * Modern Cool Blue Note, Premonition Records...
(born 1956) - Dee BellDee BellDee Bell is an American jazz singer who recorded two albums on the Concord Jazz label in 1983 & 1985 with musicians Stan Getz, Eddie Duran, Tom Harrell and Al Plank; and one album on the Laser Records label in 2011 with musicians Al Plank, Houston Person, John Stowell, Michael Spiro, Colin Bailey,...
(born 1950) - Sathima Bea BenjaminSathima Bea BenjaminSathima Bea Benjamin , is a South African vocalist and composer born in Johannesburg, raised in Cape Town, and now based in New York City.-Early life:...
(born 1936) - Regina BelleRegina BelleRegina Belle is a singer-songwriter who first surfaced in the late 1980s. She is notable for her Grammy award winning duet with Peabo Bryson, "A Whole New World".-Biography:Regina Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey...
(born 1963) - Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
(born 1926) - George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
(born 1943) - Angela BofillAngela BofillAngela Bofill is an American R&B vocalist and songwriter.Bofill was born to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother; one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B market.She performed with Ricardo Marrero & the Group and Dance Theater of Harlem chorus prior to her 1978 debut album,...
(born 1954) - Connee BoswellConnee BoswellConstance Foore "Connee" Boswell was an American female vocalist born in Kansas City but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With her sisters, Martha and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell, she performed in the 1930s as The Boswell Sisters and became a highly influential singing group during this period via...
(1907–1976) - Al BowllyAl BowllyAlbert Allick Bowlly was a Southern-African singer, songwriter, composer and band leader, who became a popular Jazz crooner during the 1930s in the United Kingdom and later, in the United States of America. He recorded more than 1,000 records between 1927 and 1941...
(1899–1941) - Dee Dee BridgewaterDee Dee BridgewaterDee Dee Bridgewater is an American Jazz singer. She is a three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award - winning stage actress and host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater...
(born 1950) - Ray Brown, Jr. (born 1949)
- Michael BubléMichael BubléMichael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
(born 1975)
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- Bobby CaldwellBobby CaldwellBobby Caldwell is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who, despite a prolific musical output over his 30-year career, is still best known for his 1978 hit single "What You Won't Do for Love". While he has always maintained a devoted fan base in the United States, a legendary...
(born 1951) - Blanche CallowayBlanche CallowayBlanche Calloway was a Jazz singer, bandleader, and composer from Baltimore, Maryland. She is not as well known as her younger brother Cab Calloway, but she may have been the first woman to lead an all male orchestra. Cab Calloway often credited her with being the reason he got into show business...
(1904–1978) - Cab CallowayCab CallowayCabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
(1907–1994) - Betty CarterBetty CarterBetty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
(1930–1998) - Eva CassidyEva CassidyEva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
(1963–1996) - Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
(1930–2004) - June ChristyJune ChristyJune Christy , born Shirley Luster, was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album Something Cool...
(1925–1990) - Peter CincottiPeter CincottiPeter Cincotti is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He attended the Horace Mann School and Columbia University.-Biography:...
(born 1983) - Jay ClaytonJay ClaytonJay Clayton is an internationally acclaimed avant-garde vocalist and jazz educator.- Early years :...
(born 1941) - Chris ConnorChris ConnorChris Connor was an American jazz singer.-Biography:She was born as Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri to Clyde and Mabel Loutsenhizer. She studied and became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for 8 years throughout junior high and high school...
(born 1927) - Jamie CullumJamie CullumJamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
(born 1979) - Rosemary ClooneyRosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
(1928–2002) - Freddy ColeFreddy ColeLionel Frederick Cole is an American jazz singer and pianist, whose recording career has spanned over fifty years. He is leader of the Freddy Cole Quartet, which regularly tours the US, Europe, the Far East and South America....
(born 1931) - Natalie ColeNatalie ColeNatalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
(born 1950) - Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
(1919–1965) - Harry Connick, Jr.Harry Connick, Jr.Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
(born 1967) - Carla CookCarla Cook-Biography:A Detroit, Michigan native, music seized hold of Cook at an early age. As a student at Cass Technical High School she played string bass in the school orchestra, studied piano and voice on weekends, and sang in her church’s choir...
- Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
(1903–1977) - Sylvia BrooksSylvia BrooksSylvia Brooks is an American jazz adult contemporary vocalist and song stylist. Her debut album, Dangerous Liaisons, features songs from the Great American Songbook and Jazz Standards Songbook, and was in rotation on over 500 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada.Born into a...
D
- Sammy Davis, Jr.Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
(1925–1990) - Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
(born 1924) - Blossom DearieBlossom DearieBlossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
(1928–2009) - Matt DuskMatt DuskMatthew-Aaron Dusk is a Canadian jazz musician / vocalist. He currently has two certified gold albums: Two Shots and Good News, and three number one radio hits: "Back in Town," "All About Me", and "Good News."-Biography:From an early age, Matt Dusk wanted to become a performer. At the age of...
(born 1978) - Bobby DarinBobby DarinBobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
(1936–1973) - Dena DeRoseDena DeRoseDena DeRose is an American jazz pianist, singer and educator. Although she began her career just as a pianist, medical problems with her hand forced her to become a vocalist as well. She has released seven solo albums.-Early life:...
(born 1966)
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- Madeline EastmanMadeline EastmanMadeline Eastman , is an American jazz singer. As one of the queens of jazz, audiences love her bold and original interpreter of the jazz canon and for her lively onstage persona...
(born 1954) - Billy EckstineBilly EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
(1914–1993) - Eliane EliasEliane EliasEliane Elias is a Brazilian jazz pianist, arranger, vocalist and songwriter.-Biography:...
(born 1960) - Kurt EllingKurt EllingKurt Elling is an American jazz vocalist, composer, lyricist and vocalese performer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling first became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church...
(born 1967) - Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
(1899-1974)
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- Georgie FameGeorgie FameGeorgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
(born 1943) - Michael FeinsteinMichael FeinsteinMichael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
(born 1956) - Rachelle FerrellRachelle FerrellRachelle Ferrell is an American singer and musician. Although she has had some success in the mainstream R&B, pop, gospel, and classical music scene, she is most noted for her talents as a contemporary jazz singer.-Biography:...
(born 1961) - Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
(1917–1996) - Roberta FlackRoberta FlackRoberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
(born 1939) - Michael Franks (born 1944)
- Nnenna FreelonNnenna FreelonNnenna Freelon, , is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards for her vocal work, and has performed and toured with such top artists as Ray Charles, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall,...
(born 1954)
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- Slim GaillardSlim GaillardBulee "Slim" Gaillard was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout"...
(1916–1991) - Roberta GambariniRoberta GambariniRoberta Gambarini is an Italian jazz singer. She was born in Turin, Italy, and started taking clarinet lessons at age twelve. She made her singing debut at age seventeen in jazz clubs around Northern Italy, then moved to Milan, where she worked in radio and television and began recording under her...
(born 1972) - Astrud GilbertoAstrud GilbertoAstrud Gilberto is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".-Biography:...
(born 1940) - Carol GrimesCarol GrimesCarol Grimes is a smooth jazz and world music singer.Grimes came to prominence in 1969 as a member of Delivery, associated with the Canterbury Scene. During the 1970s she performed regularly on the London blues circuit with her band The London Boogie Band...
(born 1944) - Melody GardotMelody GardotMelody Gardot is a Grammy-nominated American singer, writer and musician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, though she considers herself a "citizen of the world". She has been influenced by such blues and jazz artists as Judy Garland, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz and George...
(born 1985) - Peter GrantPeter GrantPeter "G" Grant was an English music manager. Grant managed the popular English bands The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company, among others, and was also a record executive for Swan Song Records. Grant has been described as "one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history"...
(born 1987)
H
- Johnny HartmanJohnny HartmanJohn Maurice Hartman was an American bass jazz singer who specialized in ballads and earned critical acclaim, though he was never widely known. He recorded a well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane in 1963 called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and was briefly a member of...
(1923–1983) - Terra HazeltonTerra HazeltonTerra Hazelton is a Canadian jazz musician, broadcaster and actress.Raised in Calgary, Hazelton began studying theatre with the Loose Moose Theatre Company as a teenager. She later moved to Toronto to pursue opportunities in theatre, discovering her skills as a musician when she was asked to write...
- Jon HendricksJon HendricksJon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
(born 1921) - Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
(1915–1959) - Stevie HollandStevie HollandStevie Holland, is an American jazz singer, cabaret performer / actress and lyricist.Born in New York, she is married to composer Gary William Friedman, with whom she has collaborated on several recording projects and theater productions. Her solo albums include More Than Words Can Say and Restless...
- Shirley HornShirley HornShirley Valerie Horn was an American jazz singer and pianist.-Biography:Encouraged by her grandmother, who was an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. At twelve, Horn studied piano and composition at Howard University and later majored from there in classical music...
(1934–2005) - Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
(1917–2010) - Alberta HunterAlberta HunterAlberta Hunter was an American blues singer, songwriter, and nurse. Her career had started back in the early 1920s, and from there on, she became a successful jazz and blues recording artist, being critically acclaimed to the ranks of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith...
(1895–1984) - Phyllis HymanPhyllis HymanPhyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and actress.-Early years:Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh...
(1949–1995)
J
- Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
(born 1938) - Al JarreauAl JarreauAlwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
(born 1940) - Eddie JeffersonEddie JeffersonEddie Jefferson was a celebrated jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Perhaps his best-known song is "Moody's Mood for Love", though it was first recorded by King Pleasure, who cited...
(1918–1979) - Al JolsonAl JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
(1886–1950) - Etta JonesEtta JonesEtta Jones was an American jazz singer. She is not to be confused with the more popular singer Etta James nor her namesake, a member of the Dandridge Sisters, who recorded with Jimmy Lunceford and was Gerald Wilson's first wife. Her best known recordings were "Don't Go To Strangers" and "Save...
(1928–2001) - Norah JonesNorah JonesNorah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
(born 1979) - Sheila JordanSheila JordanSheila Jordan is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Jordan has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to a notable solo career....
(born 1928)
K
- Juliet KellyJuliet KellyJuliet Kelly is a British jazz singer and songwriter.-Biography:Kelly grew up in London and discovered her talent for singing whilst studying economics at university. She then went on to attend the postgraduate jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.Her debut album, Aphrodite's...
- Beverly KenneyBeverly KenneyBeverly Kenney was an American jazz singer.-Biography:Kenney worked early in life for Western Union as a telephone birthday singer...
(1932–1960) - Stacey KentStacey KentStacey Kent is a Grammy nominated American jazz singer.- Background :Kent attended Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey. Her paternal grandfather was Russian. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and moved to England after her graduation...
(born 1968) - Carol KiddCarol KiddCarol Kidd, MBE is a Scottish jazz singer.She came to prominence in the mid 1970s, as the vocalist in the band led by vibrophonist / saxophonist Jimmy Feighan. In 1990, she released her award-winning album, The Night We Called It a Day. She has subsequently performed and recorded extensively on...
- Morgana KingMorgana KingMorgana King is an American singer and actress. She is a noted jazz singer, who is regarded as a "musician's singer." The musical œuvre of her stylized vocal artistry spans a period of more than four decades and has an "appeal that bridges generations, tastes and life styles"."She is, like all...
(born 1930) - Eartha KittEartha KittEartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
(1927–2008) - Diana KrallDiana KrallDiana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
(born 1964)
L
- Cleo LaineCleo LaineDame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...
(born 1927) - Dave Lambert (1917–1966)
- Lea DeLariaLea DeLariaLea DeLaria is an American comedienne, actress, and jazz musician. The "famously controversial" DeLaria was "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show....
(born 1958) - Peggy LeePeggy LeePeggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
(1920–2002) - Sara LeibSara LeibSara Leib is an American-born vocalist and music educator, best known as a jazz singer and acclaimed for her improvisation.- Biography :...
(born 1981) - Abbey LincolnAbbey LincolnAnna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many...
(1930–2010) - Julie LondonJulie LondonJulie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
(1926–2000) - Jon LucienJon LucienJon Lucien was born on the island of Tortola, the main island of the British Virgin Islands. Born Lucien Harrigan, and raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands by his musician father, Lucien was best known for his song "Rashida", the title track of an album released in 1973, and one of two...
(1942–2007) - Carmen LundyCarmen LundyCarmen Lundy is an American jazz singer, composer, songwriter, actress, and painter. She has been performing for three decades, with a focus on original material. She has been positively compared with Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan...
(born 1954) - Gloria LynneGloria LynneGloria Lynne is an American jazz vocalist with a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007. Born Gloria Alleyne, Gloria Lynne grew up in Harlem; her mother was a gospel singer.-Career:...
(born 1931)
M
- Jeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonaldJeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
(1903–1965) - Kevin MahoganyKevin MahoganyKevin Mahogany is an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. He is known for his scat singing, and his singing style has been compared with jazz singers Joe Williams and Johnny Hartman....
(born 1958) - MaliaMalia (singer)Malia is a singer from Malawi whose debut album Yellow Daffodils has been released in 2002. Her mother is from Malawi and her father is from the United Kingdom....
(born 1986) - Kitty MargolisKitty MargolisKitty Margolis is an American jazz singer. In 1989, made her well-received debut at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival. Margolis has released five CD's on her own Mad Kat label that she co-founded with vocalist Madeline Eastman.Her first studio album, 1993's Evolution, was the one that really...
(born 1955) - Claire MartinClaire Martin (singer)Claire Martin, OBE is an English jazz singer, born in Wimbledon, South London, England.Claire Martin grew up in a house "full of music", and claims to have learned all of Judy Garland´s songs by the time she was 12...
(born 1967) - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
(1917–1995) - Susannah McCorkleSusannah McCorkleSusannah McCorkle was an American jazz singer much admired for her direct, unadorned singing style and quiet intensity.-Biography:...
(1946–2001) - Bobby McFerrinBobby McFerrinRobert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
(born 1950) - Carmen McRaeCarmen McRaeCarmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
(1920–1994) - George MellyGeorge MellyAlan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
(1926–2007) - Katie MeluaKatie MeluaKetevan "Katie" Melua is a British-Georgian singer, songwriter and musician. She moved to Northern Ireland at the age of eight and then to England at fourteen. Melua is signed to the small Dramatico record label, under the management of composer Mike Batt, and made her musical debut in 2003...
(born 1984) - Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
(1909–1976) - Mabel MercerMabel MercerMabel Mercer was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the...
(1900–1984) - Helen MerrillHelen MerrillHelen Merrill is an internationally known jazz vocalist.Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy as well as in her native United States...
(born 1930) - Seela MisraSeela MisraSeela Misra is an American jazz vocalist from Austin, Texas. She is also well known as the lead singer of the jazz band Torch and also as the back-up singer for Matt The Electrician. Her albums include Probably Lucy , Something Happened , Hard Times Hit , and Rock With Us . Brian Beattie produces...
(born 1970) - Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
(born 1943) - Jane MonheitJane MonheitJane Monheit is a jazz and adult contemporary vocalist for Concord Records. She has collaborated with artists such as Michael Bublé, Ivan Lins, Terence Blanchard and Tom Harrell, and has received Grammy nominations for two of her recordings.-Early life:Jane Monheit was raised in Oakdale, New York...
(born 1977) - Mark MurphyMark Murphy (singer)Mark Murphy is an American jazz singer based in New York. He is most noted for his definitive and unique vocalese and vocal improvisations with both melody and lyrics...
(born 1932)
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- Madeleine PeyrouxMadeleine PeyrouxMadeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....
(born 1974) - Esther PhillipsEsther PhillipsEsther Phillips was an American singer. Phillips was known for her R&B vocals, but she was a versatile singer, also performing pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music.-Early life:...
(1935–1984) - John PizzarelliJohn PizzarelliJohn Paul Pizzarelli, Jr. is an American jazz guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader. He has had a lengthy career as a recording artist, performing for a variety of labels that include Telarc Records, RCA Records and Chesky Records, among others...
(born 1960) - King PleasureKing PleasureKing Pleasure was a jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo....
(1922–1982) - Rachael PriceRachael PriceRachael Price is a jazz vocalist from Hendersonville, Tennessee. She is a graduate in Jazz Studies at the New England Conservatory in Massachusetts...
(born 1985) - Flora PurimFlora PurimFlora Purim is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Chick Corea's landmark album Return to Forever...
(born 1942)
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- Corinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
(born 1979) - Ma RaineyMa RaineyMa Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
(1886–1939) - Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
(1933–2006) - Ray ReachRay ReachRaymond Everett Reach, Jr. is an American pianist, vocalist and educator residing in Birmingham, Alabama, now serving as Director of Student Jazz Programs for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, director of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars and President and CEO of Ray Reach Music and Magic City...
(born 1948) - Leon RedboneLeon RedboneLeon Redbone is a singer and guitarist specializing in interpretations of early 20th-century music, including jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics....
(born 1949) - Della ReeseDella ReeseDelloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
(born 1931) - Dianne ReevesDianne ReevesDianne Reeves is an American jazz singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.-Early life:Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke, is a...
(born 1956) - Rita ReysRita ReysRita Reys is a jazz singer from the Netherlands.At the 1960 jazz festival of Juan Les Pins , she received the title 'Europe’s first lady of jazz'.-Early career:...
(born 1924) - Annie RossAnnie RossAnnie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
(born 1930) - Dennis RowlandDennis RowlandDennis Rowland is a jazz vocalist born and raised in Detroit, MI. Having grown up in a household of jazz enthusiasts, Rowland developed an appreciation for Jazz music at an early age. At the age of five or six Rowland heard the vocals of Joe Williams of the Count Basie Orchestra, which has...
(born 1948) - Vanessa RubinVanessa RubinVanessa Rubin is an American jazz vocalist and composer.-Biography:Rubin was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, grew up in a musical household to parents from Trinidad and Louisiana. After achieving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Ohio State University...
(born 1957) - Jimmy RushingJimmy RushingJames Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
(1902–1972)
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- Diane SchuurDiane SchuurDiane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...
(born 1953) - Jimmy ScottJimmy ScottJimmy Scott , aka "Little" Jimmy Scott, is an American jazz vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the...
(born 1925) - Gil Scott-HeronGil Scott-HeronGilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
(1949-2011) - Janet SeidelJanet SeidelJanet Seidel is an Australian-born jazz vocalist and pianist.Her albums, recorded with musicians including her brother, bassist David Seidel, have been nominated for prizes such as the ARIA Music Awards. Her album "Moon of Manakoora" won the Bell Award for Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album in...
(born 1955) - Ian ShawIan Shaw (singer)Ian Shaw is a Welsh jazz singer, record producer, and former stand up comedian.Shaw was born at St. Asaph, Wales, and his career in performance began on the Alternative Cabaret Circuit, alongside such performers as Julian Clary, Rory Bremner and Jo Brand.In his music career he has recorded and...
(born 1962) - Marlena ShawMarlena ShawMarlena Shaw is an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop music, and used in television commercials.-Biography:She was first introduced to music by her uncle Jimmy Burgess, a jazz trumpet player...
(born 1942) - Dinah ShoreDinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
(1916–1994) - Ben SidranBen SidranBen Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.-Biography:...
(born 1943) - Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
(1933–2003) - Carol SloaneCarol SloaneCarol Sloane is an American jazz singer born in Providence, Rhode Island, who has been singing professionally since she was 14, although for a time in the 1970s she worked as a legal secretary in Raleigh, North Carolina. She currently lives in Stoneham, Massachusetts.One of her early efforts was...
(born 1937) - Bessie SmithBessie SmithBessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
(1894–1937) - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
(1915–1998) - Frank Sinatra, Jr.Frank Sinatra, Jr.Franklin Wayne Sinatra , professionally known as Frank Sinatra, Jr., is an American singer, songwriter and conductor....
(born 1944) - Nikoletta SzőkeNikoletta SzokeNikoletta Szőke is a Hungarian jazz vocalist who has won international acclaim as winner of the 2005 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition. Since then she has been pursuing and enjoying an increasingly successful performing career.-Biography:...
(born 1983) - Phoebe SnowPhoebe LaubPhoebe Snow was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for her chart-topping 1975 hit "Poetry Man"....
(born 1952) - Luciana SouzaLuciana SouzaLuciana Souza is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who has crossed over into classical music.Daughter of poet Tereza Souza and singer-composer-guitarist Walter Santos, she grew up in São Paulo. She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston from which she received a Bachelor's...
(born 1966) - Esperanza SpaldingEsperanza SpaldingEsperanza Spalding is an American multi-instrumentalist best known as a jazz bassist and singer, who draws upon many genres in her own compositions...
- Mary StallingsMary StallingsMary Stallings is an American jazz vocalist and mother of R&B/soul singer Adriana Evans.-Biography:Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco, one of the eldest of 11 children in the Stallings family; saxophonist Ron Stallings is her first cousin...
(born 1939) - Kay StarrKay StarrKay Starr is an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the 1940s and 50s. She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz"....
(born 1922) - Curtis StigersCurtis StigersCurtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...
(born 1965) - Tierney SuttonTierney SuttonTierney Sutton is an American jazz singer.A three-time Grammy Nominee for "Best Jazz Vocal Album" and "a selection by Jazzweek as Vocalist of the Year in 2005," Sutton was born in Wisconsin and was educated at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and the Berklee College of Music in...
(born 1963) - Pat SuzukiPat SuzukiPat Suzuki is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the show.-Career:Suzuki is a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American...
(born 1934)
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- Dinah WashingtonDinah WashingtonDinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
(1924–1963) - Ethel WatersEthel WatersEthel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
(1896–1977) - Carol WelsmanCarol WelsmanCarol Welsman is a Canadian jazz vocalist and pianist. She is the granddaughter of conductor/composer Frank Welsman and the sister of composer John Welsman. She has been nominated 5 times for the Juno Award....
(born 1960) - Kate WestbrookKate Westbrook (musician)Kate Westbrook is an artist following the professions of painter and musician. Her musical work centres around her career as a vocalist, predominantly with her husband, British composer and bandleader Mike Westbrook's bands...
- Catherine WhitneyCatherine WhitneyCatherine Jane Whitney is an American Jazz Singer that is Chicago-based and is not only a vocalist, but composer and lyricist as well. She sings in the "vo-cool" style similar to that of Anita O'Day and Peggy Lee. She is published by Second Floor Music in New York...
(born 1954) - Lee WileyLee WileyLee Wiley was an American jazz singer popular in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.Wiley was born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. While still in her early teens, she left home to pursue a singing career with the Leo Reisman band. Her career was temporarily interrupted by a fall while horseback riding...
(1915–1975) - Joe WilliamsJoe Williams (jazz singer)Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
(1918–1999) - Midge WilliamsMidge WilliamsMidge Williams was an African American swing and jazz vocalist during the 1930s and 1940s. Although not as famous as other jazz recording artists, Williams was a respected singer and her group, Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters, made several well-received recordings during the late 1930s.-Early...
(1915–1952) - Cassandra WilsonCassandra WilsonCassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
(born 1955) - Nancy WilsonNancy Wilson (singer)Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
(born 1937) - Pauline WilsonPauline WilsonPauline Wilson is an American jazz/pop singer best known as lead vocalist with the jazz/fusion group Seawind in the 1970's and early 80's.Wilson, who is also part Filipino was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii...
- Chris Williams (born 1978)
- Lizz WrightLizz WrightLizz Wright is an American jazz/R&B singer and composer.Wright was born in the small town of Hahira in the US state of Georgia; one of three children and the daughter of a minister and the musical director of their Church. She started singing gospel music and playing piano in church as a child,...
(born 1980) - Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
(1983–2011) - Sable WintersSable WintersSable Winters, is an American singer songwriter jazz vocalist, neo-soul singer and recording artist.-Music career:In the summer of 1989, Ms...
(born 1965)