Vocal Jazz Groups
One of the most popular music forms of the last century, jazz comes in many styles, from the all-instrumental and accompanied to our favorite - vocal. It's an art form that is so identified with the United States, and yet so much great jazz comes from talented groups around the world. Doesn't matter, though, because Jazz transcends language and national borders - warm, luscious tones, smooth sounds and powerful, emotive chords are great anywhere. And vocal jazz is just the icing on a very smooth and delightful cake.
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Banda de Boca is a Brazilian band from Salvador da Bahia, made up of five singers and friends. The personal style of the band is created by performing beautiful compositions and arrangements by consummate musician Hiran Monteiro. Their vocal imitations of musical instruments like guitar, bass, and percussion are really impressive. They do not use any kind of real instrument, only voices - as it says on their CD jacket "Todos os sons produzidos pela voz." The secret to their success? Many rehearsal sessions... Recordings |
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Bara Vox is a Swedish vocal group founded in 1995. Since then they have made several radio and TV performances - both locally and nationally - and performed on several CD-recordings, both as backing vocals and with their own material. Their first record has been played on radio stations all over the country and has also been featured on a Swedish hit list with the song "H?r ?r jag hemma" ("This is my home"). Bara Vox is touring throughout Sweden and performing on everything from festivals to conference dinners (but has also performed on such unusual occasions as "after ski" and a football-game between Sweden and Austria). They usually do about 40 performances each year. In style it's easiest to compare Bara Vox with groups like "The Real Group", "Vox One" and "The Swingle singers" but they have created their own style. Recordings |
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BR6 is a Brazilian sextet, featuring 5 male voices and one alto, who espouse as their influences Take 6, as well as several generations of Brazilian groups (Anjos do Inferno, Os Cariocas and Boca Livre among them). Complex arrangements, written by BR6 themselves, highlight the beautiful timbre of their voices. Many of the songs on the CD, such "O Morro n?o tem Vez", "Eu sei que vou te amar" and "Wave" are well known, as they were written by Tom Jobim and recorded by Jo?o Gilberto, becoming international hits. BR6 was nominated for Artist of the Year in the 2004 CARA Awards. Recordings |
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Cluster is a vocal jazz group from Italy. It was founded in 2004 by five young musicians, who were studying at Niccolò Paganini Conservatory of Music in Genoa. The group has spent last 3 years touring Italy and Europe with their unique style that combines elements of jazz, pop, and fusion. "Cement", Cluster's first album, was released in 2006 and features arrangements written by members of the group. Recordings |
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Infectious grooves, stunning arrangements, and electrifying solos are just some of the phrases used to describe Seattle based vocal group Groove For Thought. Since 2000, GFT has brought their unique brand of jazz, gospel, and R&B infused tunes to festival, concert, school, and nightclub audiences throughout the United States and Canada. Winners of the 2005 National Harmony Sweepstakes Competition and the 2006 Contemporary Acappella Recording Award for Best Jazz Song, the six men of GFT create their own sound while drawing on influences as diverse as Earth, Wind, & Fire and The Count Basie Orchestra. Groove For Thought's self titled debut CD has been released to rave reviews and is receiving radio airplay from coast to coast. Recordings |
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Groove Society is an award winning vocal ensemble with a growing reputation for their excellence in jazz and a cappella singing. Thoughtfully crafted arrangements, masterful use of extended harmonies, intricate rhythms and exhilarating improvisations characterize this ensemble’s unique sound. Although the group’s roots are firmly planted in the jazz genre, they are not afraid to demonstrate their versatility by performing in a variety of styles. Whether singing Latin, blues, bebop, rock, pop, funk or R&B, a common thread of exuberant passion and soul runs throughout each performance. |
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High Five is an award winning, mixed voice, 5-part, a cappella jazz quintet from the Baltimore-Washington area creating music and fun wherever music lovers can be found. With more than a century of combined musical experience, this full-chord sound and tight harmonies are indicative of their unique style. This, combined with an undisputable jazz influence & champion arranger, makes Janet, Christy, Lori, Joe and Mike the ensemble that is unmistakably High Five. In, 2004, High Five placed second in the Harmony Sweepstakes New York Regional. Recordings |
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Within the few short years since they put their quartet together at a jazz festival at Mt. Hood Community College, Just 4 Kicks has become a staple at jazz clinics and festivals all over the United States and Canada. Each of the members of this a cappella vocal jazz quartet is distinguished independently in music and brings an incredible depth to Just 4 Kicks to make it truly unique. As solid performers and educators, they are able to present themselves and their art in a way that students can appreciate, understand, and learn. Recordings |
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The Manhattan Transfer were not an overnight success, but a result of many years of dues-paying and persistence, particularly by bass singer and founder Tim Hauser. Tim's musical history goes back to a doo-wop group called the Criterions, who recorded a couple of singles on Cecilia Records when Tim was 15. Subsequently, Tim formed the first Manhattan Transfer, five members strong and featuring Gene Pistilli, who had co-written some songs recorded by Spanky and Our Gang. The resulting album wasn't stylistically well-integrated, and didn't catch on commercially either. That first version of the group broke up in 1971. The Manhattan Transfer re-emerged as a four-piece, with Janis Siegel (alto), Laurel Masse (soprano), and Alan Paul (tenor), who found each other in a series of happy accidents. Tim Hauser was driving a cab at the time, and picked up passenger Laurel Masse; they got to talking. Tim met Janis Siegel through a drummer acquaintance. Janis had been performing at the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene with a group called "Laurel Canyon." Alan Paul had been appearing in the musical "Grease!" (Laurel's boyfriend was a musician in the production, and referred him). With personnel in place, they began to build a following at all of the hip New York clubs: Max's Kansas City, Reno Sweeney's, Cafe Carlyle, etc. Atlantic's Ahmet Ertegun heard of them and came to a gig. His enthusiastic response resulted in a record deal and an association that lasted for many years. Cheryl Bentyne joined in 1979.Cheryl Bentyne joined in 1979. Recordings |
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New York Voices is the Grammy Award winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. Like the great groups that have come before, such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer and Take 6, they have learned from the best and taken the art form to new levels. Their interests are rooted in jazz, but often Brazilian, R & B, classical, and pop influences are included with equal creativity and authenticity. The group was formed in 1987 by Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian, Caprice Fox and Sara Krieger. By way of explanation, Darmon, Peter, Kim and Caprice attended Ithaca College in NY and were part of an invitational alumni group formed to tour the European Jazz Festivals in the summer of '86. As a result of this exciting experience, the idea of forming a professional group was born. In 1989 they would sign their first record deal with GRP Records and release their self titled debut album, New York Voices. The group received rave notices and quickly received domestic and international recognition in the Jazz World. From '89 to '94, they released four total CDs on the GRP Label, Hearts of Fire, What's Inside, and The Collection. While recording for GRP, they underwent personnel changes. In 1992, Sara Krieger retired her chair, and after auditioning over 60 vocalists from all over the U.S., the group found Lauren Kinhan. There was an immediate chemistry in fit and sound, allowing the group to make a quick transition and fast become the "new" New York Voices. Lauren's first musical contributions can be heard on NYV's third CD, What's Inside, released in May of 1993. In early 1994, Caprice Fox left the group, forever fixing NYV as the quartet it is today. Recordings |
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Powerful, entertaining and bursting with energy, this contemporary a cappella octet blends familiar sounds to create its own expression of American vocal music. The ensemble's voices -- pairs of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses -- combine in rich harmony to create a seamless blend of sound. Saluting the boundless and unpredictable American spirit, Pieces of 8 combines classical music influences with the sounds of jazz, pop, rock, Reggae, doo-wop, gospel and soul to create a multilayered, nearly orchestral texture. Pieces of 8 was founded by Charles Mead, the ensembles artistic director, with support from the Professional Studies Program at the St. Louis Symphony Community Music School (formerly the St. Louis Conservatory and School for the Arts). Mead started his career in Los Angeles, where, in addition to being active as a composer, arranger and educator, he was the director of the electronic composing and arranging program at the Grove School of Music and a MIDI consultant to several prominent recording/television studios, including Group Four and NBC. All of the music performed by Pieces of 8 is written or arranged for the ensemble by Mead, who considers his main musical influences to be Bach, Bartok, Debussy, James Brown, Tower of Power and the Neville Brothers. The group remains committed to the celebration of music and the musical styles from various ethnic cultures. Each of Mead's compositions and arrangements has a unique flavor and sound, creatively combining melodic, rhythmic and harmonic material from diverse sources. Pieces of 8 tours nationwide, concertizing for adults as well as for children and teenagers. Recordings |
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This Los Angeles-based vocal jazz group has been singing together since 2003, and has developed a loyal and enthusiastic following for its unique A cappella style and lively personality. The group's sound has been described as "compelling," "mesmerizing," and "a cocktail for the ears!" The foursome, who describe themselves as "self-confessed chord freaks," share a passion for "dangerously close harmonies" and "songs that can melt the heart!" A powerful combination indeed! Ready Willing & Mabel is a truly international group - Caroline McLean, the group's lead singer, hails from Leeds, England, while alto, Kate Walker is from Christchurch, New Zealand. Peter Neushul, tenor, and Robert Clark, the group's bass singer are both native Los Angelinos (although Peter does claim to be a descendent of Attila the Hun!) Recordings |
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To our way of thinking The Real Group is the current jazz standard by which other groups must be judged. They are that good. Each of the members was admitted to The Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm where they met. The five formed the group in 1984. Since the beginning of their professional career they have sold more than 200,000 albums, performed more than 1,000 live shows and worked with great musicians like George Martin, Bobby McFerrin, Barbara Hendricks and Toots Thielemans. Generally they perform a cappella, but they have performed with symphony orchestras, big bands and choirs as well as other well known musicians. In a way it isn't a surprise, looking backward that these five musicians would be superb in their singing, for they are all immensely talented. Margareta Jalkeus grew up in a musical family and began playing piano and singing at an early age. Since twelve she has played harp with such proficiency that her skills have been utilized by some famous orchestras, when she has time away from solo performance, that is. Katarina Stenstrom has been singing since she was eight years old. She played piano and studied cello for a while but it has been the vocals where her interests lie. She founded a band named Donna Lee which signed a contract with Polygram and has worked as a background vocalist for a number of Swedish artists. Anders Edenroth spent five years at The Royal Academy, planning to be a pianist. He met the group and became a singer instead. Anders Jalkeus was introduced to folk music by his parents and began to play the violin and piano at six years old. By the time he came to the Academy, he could play almost any instrument. At school his studies focused on singing and he graduated as a cantor. His vocal interests have also extended toward several choirs with whom he's worked. Peder Karlsson, who loves books as much as music, plays guitar, piano, and loves the violin. That is a lot of musical background in one group! Recordings |
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Formed in 2000 Riltons Vanner has performed in a variety of different settings - ranging from singing for Nobel Prize winners at a dinner for 60 persons to performing at an outdoor stage in Germany in front of 6000 people. Thanks to their singing they had the opportunity to visit many beautiful places in Sweden, but have also been to more "remote" places as Tammerfors (Finland), Steinkjer (Norway), Bamberg (Germany) and New York (USA). They all live in Stockholm and have of course given a number of concerts in the most beautiful capital city of the world! The story of Riltons Vänner began in the winter 1999-2000, when five friends at Stockholm's Music Gymnasium formed an A Cappella-group. Their first record, "Kompis" ("Buddy"), came in 2002, and the group started to tour more and more frequently. In 2005 their latest album "Här är passion" ("Here is passion") was released, which got an award for "best folk/world album of the year" by the international A Cappella society CASA. Through the years, Riltons Vänner has become one of Sweden's few proffessional vocal groups. They have done around 500 different performances in Sweden, Norway, Germany, USA, Finland & Russia, and they have also cooperated with several well-known Swedish artists. Recordings |
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The SoVoSó repertoire consists of original compositions and other songs that present a global perspective, from Afro-Latin idioms to traditional jazz choral arrangements. Three SoVoSó members (Joey Blake, Melanie Rath, and David Worm) are alumni of Bobby McFerrin's a cappella group, Voicestra, performing with him until 1993. Sunshine Garcia, Destani Wolf, and Norman Pitters are the most recent members of the sextet. As SoVoSó ("from the Soul to the Voice to the Song"), the ensemble has continued to pioneer new horizons in improvisational vocal performance. According to the San Jose Mercury News, "The extraordinary richness and brilliance of this virtuoso vocalism lifts you into a special realm. Recordings |
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Ward Swingle now lives in semi-retirement near Paris, France. When he was a youngster in Alabama his father insisted that he learn all kinds of music, play all kinds of instruments and develop perfect pitch. It turned out to be the ideal background, many years later, when he founded the Swingle Singers, in Paris in the early sixties. The whole thing began as an exercise by eight free-lance singers. The group was bored by the simple fare available in the studios, for this was an era dominated by pop and early rock. One day he got out Bach's "Well Tempered Clavichord" and they tried them out, to find that singing them came naturally. In 1963 they released their first recording on Phillips. By word of mouth, DJ after DJ began playing it. After climbing the charts it hit the top ten and stayed in the top 100 for more than a year and a half! That one and their following two albums won Grammies for Best Performance By A Chorus, and Bach's Greatest Hits also won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Recordings |
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The Boston Globe calls Syncopation the “Manhattan Transfer of the 21st Century”, and it is easy to see why. Like that legendary vocal group, Syncopation performs jazz and pop music that is both timeless and up-to-the-minute. These four young singer/musicians have performed across the U.S. at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, the Tri-C Vocal Jazz Festival, the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, the Meihou Music Festival, and the 2004 and 2006 International Association for Jazz Education Conferences in New York City. The group has also regularly tours Japan. Recordings |
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VOCALOGY is a jazz vocal quintet which brings an exciting and distinctive new sound to the world of vocal jazz. Vocalogy's unique performances of jazz and standards have delighted audiences nationwide in festivals, concerts, clinics and clubs for over six years. |
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Formed in 1987, Voice Trek makes their home in St. Paul, Minnesota. A well-respected ingredient in Minnesota jazz, the five singers of Voice Trek are: Shelley Plaster Jwanouskos Soprano, Vicki Plaster Kueppers Second Soprano, Rae Plaster Allaire Alto, Denis Allaire Tenor, Kevin Smith Bass. Educated in both classical and jazz idioms, each member of the group contributes to Voice Trek's distinctive sound. The combination of the sisters' natural blend, and the warm rich voices of the men give strength to their five-part vocal scats and fullness to their lush harmonies, while some of their most acclaimed and impressive arrangements are performed a cappella. All studied with acclaimed jazz educator and arranger, Phil Mattson. As teacher, mentor, and friend, Phil gave Voice Trek the inspiration and education to become a "world class" professional vocal ensemble. In addition to performance, Voice Trek has become increasingly sought after for a variety of recording projects and educational workshops. As a part of Voice Trek's ongoing commitment to jazz/vocal education, the group is available for workshops and residency activities in middle schools, high schools, and universities. Recordings |
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Vox One is an award-winning a cappella jazz quintet that combines elements of blues, funk, gospel, and folk into their own brand of vocal music, which is "most adventurous and distinctive." - San Francisco Examiner. The group, formed in 1988, has since developed a unique style considered to be the cutting edge of a cappella. "This jazz quintet puts all kinds of throat sounds to such funky good use that listeners break into applause and - better - feel like dancing." - Boston Magazine. Vox One has performed internationally, and has opened for Ray Charles, Chicago, the Persuasions, the Bobs, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and the Count Basie Orchestra. The group earns wide acclaim for their performances and CDs. Their awards include "Best A cappella Group, Jazz" - Boston Magazine. Vox One's eponymous debut CD was named "Best Album" and awarded "Best Song" by the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA): "Creative arrangements and soulful spark... fabulous lead vocalists, and exquisite blend, a great vocal percussion sound, and lots of class." Their second US release “Out There,” won "Album of the Year," "Best Jazz Song," and "Best R&B song" by CASA. “...as defining an album for vocal jazz as Singers Unlimited "A Capella" and Take 6's debut album...it’s that good.” -Primarily A Cappella. With their 1998 album “Chameleon,” Vox One was named “Artist of the Year,” and once again it earned “Best Jazz Album” and “Best Jazz Song.”. Recordings |
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