Jazzmeia Horn

Grammy-nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn is one of the most virtuosic and exciting vocalists in jazz today. Thirty-two-year-old Jazzmeia’s combination of mind-boggling, saxophone-like vocal facility and lyrical artistry led her to win the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Competition and the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Horn has gone on to perform with many names in the jazz pantheon, including Vincent Herring, Ellis Marsalis, and Billy Harper. Jazzmeia utilizes her astonishing vocal range to traverse the spectrum of musical and lyrical expression, leaving no stone unturned. 

In addition to her immense vocal talent, Horn has broken barriers in the jazz community. With her newest album Dear Love, she became the first black woman in a century to front a big band album from cover to cover. While the album functions as a platform for Horn to showcase both her perception of the world and her endlessly unfolding talents, it also granted the composer a setting to expound on personal experiences, shuttling them through a sui generis musical prism. The album comes on the heels of two widely praised long-players, A Social Call and Love and Liberation, which each garnered Grammy nominations in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. Assessing a live performance around the time her debut was released, The New York Times noted that “she’s possessed of some distinctive tools, all of which were on display: a pinched, sassy tone in the highest register; a fondness for unguarded duets with her bassist … ; an array of rough, pealing nonverbal sounds that add drama to codas and interludes, hinting at meanings in the music that go beyond what fits on the page.”