Female Jazz Musicians

Vote for Your Favourite Female Jazz Musicians

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 1 
Chaka Khan
(Singer)
Chaka Khan
6
Birthdate: March 23, 1953
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
Ten-time Grammy-winning funk/R&B/disco artist Chaka Khan, or the Queen of Funk, soared to fame as the frontwoman of the band Rufus. Known for her hit track I Feel for You, Khan has sold 70 million records and has ranked 17th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll list.
 2 
Sia
(Australian Pop Singer Known for Such Hits as 'Chandelier,' 'Elastic Heart' and 'Clap Your Hands')
Sia
6
Birthdate: December 18, 1975
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Adelaide, Australia

Australian singer-songwriter, voice-actress and director Sia Furler rose to fame with albums like We Are Born. Moving on, she bolstered her career with albums like 1000 Forms of Fear that debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and singles like Cheap Thrills, her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one. Furler has also co-written hit songs like Diamonds, Titanium and Wild Ones.

 3 
Rita Coolidge
(Musician)
Rita Coolidge
5
Birthdate: May 1, 1945
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Lafayette, Tennessee, United States
 4 
Eva Cassidy
(Singer, Guitarist)
Eva Cassidy
4
Birthdate: February 2, 1963
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States
Died: November 2, 1996
 5 
Peggy Lee
(Singer)
Peggy Lee
4
Birthdate: May 26, 1920
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Jamestown, North Dakota, United States
Died: January 21, 2002
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 6 
Judith Durham
(Australian Singer, Songwriter and Musician)
Judith Durham
4
Birthdate: July 3, 1943
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Essendon, Australia

Judith Durham is an Australian musician, singer, and songwriter. In 1963, she became the lead singer of the popular folk-influenced pop quartet The Seekers, which became the first Australian pop band to achieve major sales and chart success in the United States and the United Kingdom. Her services to music earned her the title Victorian of the Year in 2015.

 7 
Cindy Breakspeare
(Canadian-Jamaican Jazz Singer, Musician and Winner of Miss World 1976 )
Cindy Breakspeare
5
Birthdate: October 24, 1954
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Toronto, Canada

Cindy Breakspeare is a Canadian-Jamaican jazz singer, musician, and beauty queen. She was crowned Miss World 1976, becoming the second Jamaican to clinch the crown. She later became a recording artist and entrepreneur, founding a Rastafarian craft store called Ital Craf. She was once in a relationship with reggae musician Bob Marley that lasted until his death.

 8 
Wendy Carlos
(Musician)
Wendy Carlos
4
Birthdate: November 14, 1939
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA
 9 
Sarah Vaughan
(Singer)
Sarah Vaughan
3
Birthdate: March 27, 1924
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died: April 3, 1990
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
 10 
Esperanza Spalding
(Music educator, Jazz musician, Singer)
Esperanza Spalding
4
Birthdate: October 18, 1984
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Portland
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 11 
Billie Holiday
(One of the Greatest Jazz Singers from the 1930s to the 1950s)
Billie Holiday
6
Birthdate: April 7, 1915
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 17, 1959
Jazz legend Billie Holiday had a tumultuous childhood and ended up in prison due to prostitution. Upon her release, at 14, she started singing using her pseudonym and performed at sold-out Carnegie Hall shows. Nicknamed Lady Day, she was riddled with alcohol and drug issues. She won four posthumous Grammys.
 12 
Alice Coltrane
(Musician)
Alice Coltrane
3
Birthdate: August 27, 1937
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died: January 12, 2007
 13 
Melody Gardot
(Singer-songwriter, Jazz musician, Singer, Composer, Pianist)
Melody Gardot
3
Birthdate: February 2, 1985
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New Jersey
 14 
Ethel Waters
(Actor, Singer, Jazz musician, Stage actor)
Ethel Waters
3
Birthdate: October 31, 1896
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Chester County
Died: September 1, 1977
 15 
Cindy Blackman Santana
3
Birthdate: November 18, 1959
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Yellow Springs, Ohio
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 16 
Keely Smith
(Jazz Singer Who Released Hits Like ‘That Old Black Magic’ and ‘I Wish You Love’)
Keely Smith
3
Birthdate: March 9, 1928
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Died: December 16, 2017
 17 
Yoko Kanno
(Composer, Singer)
Yoko Kanno
3
Birthdate: March 18, 1963
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
 18 
Kate Higgins
(Actor, Singer, Jazz musician, Pianist)
Kate Higgins
3
Birthdate: August 16, 1969
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Charlottesville
 19 
Rachael Price
(Singer, Musician)
Rachael Price
0
Birthdate: August 30, 1985
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
 20 
Candy Dulfer
(Dutch Jazz and Pop Saxophonist Known for Her Album 'Saxuality')
Candy Dulfer
3
Birthdate: September 19, 1969
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Candy Dulfer is a Dutch saxophonist best known for her solo career as well as for her association with the band The Ladies of Soul. Dulfer became a household name in the Netherlands in 2013 when she started appearing as a jury member in the popular TV show X-Factor. During the 1990s, Candy Dulfer won many Conamus Export Prizes.

 21 
Cleo Laine
(Actress, Singer)
Cleo Laine
3
Birthdate: October 28, 1927
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Uxbridge, Middlesex, England
 22 
Gabriella Cilmi
(Australian Singer Renowned For Her Raspy Singing Voice)
Gabriella Cilmi
3
Birthdate: October 10, 1991
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: City of Greater Dandenong
 23 
Laura Mvula
(British Musician and Singer)
Laura Mvula
3
Birthdate: April 23, 1986
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Birmingham, England
 24 
Elis Regina
(Brazilian Singer of Popular and Jazz Music)
Elis Regina
3
Birthdate: March 17, 1945
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Died: January 19, 1982

Elis Regina was a Brazilian singer who achieved national recognition in 1965 when she performed Arrastão on TV Excelsior. Best remembered for her interpretation and vocalization, Regina helped popularize tropicalismo in the late-1960s and early-1970s. Elis Regina's life, career, and untimely death at age 36 inspired a film titled Elis where she was played by Andréia Horta.

 25 
Mary Lou Williams
(American jazz pianist)
Mary Lou Williams
2
Birthdate: May 8, 1910
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Died: May 28, 1981
 26 
Lee Aaron
(Singer, Jazz musician, Songwriter)
Lee Aaron
2
Birthdate: July 21, 1962
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Belleville
 27 
Julie Driscoll
(English Actress and Singer)
Julie Driscoll
2
Birthdate: June 8, 1947
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London

Julie Driscoll is an English actress and singer best known for her '60s version of Rick Danko and Bob Dylan's This Wheel's on Fire. Driscoll's version of the song became the unofficial anthem of the psychedelic subculture era in British rock music.

 28 
Carla Bley
(Known for Her Jazz Opera 'Escalator Over the Hill')
Carla Bley
2
Birthdate: May 11, 1936
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
 29 
Adelaide Hall
(Singer, Artist, Jazz musician, Actor, Stage actor)
Adelaide Hall
2
Birthdate: October 20, 1901
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York City
Died: November 7, 1993
 30 
Gunhild Carling
(Musician)
Gunhild Carling
2
Birthdate: May 7, 1975
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Gothenburg, Sweden
 31 
Jane Siberry
(Singer, Songwriter, Jazz musician)
Jane Siberry
2
Birthdate: October 12, 1955
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Toronto
 32 
Akiko Yano
(Singer-songwriter, Jazz musician)
Akiko Yano
2
Birthdate: February 13, 1955
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 33 
Flora Purim
(Jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style)
Flora Purim
2
Birthdate: March 6, 1942
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Flora Purim is a Brazilian singer best known for her contribution to the jazz fusion style. She achieved popularity when she contributed to the success of the popular American jazz fusion band, Return to Forever. Referred to as the Queen of Brazilian Jazz, Flora Purim has also performed with several other artistes like Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, and Gil Evans.

 34 
Marian McPartland
(Pianist, Radio personality, Composer, Jazz musician)
Marian McPartland
2
Birthdate: March 20, 1918
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Slough
Died: August 20, 2013
 35 
Susheela Raman
(Singer, Jazz musician whose debut album Salt Rain was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001)
Susheela Raman
2
Birthdate: July 21, 1973
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Hendon, London, England, United Kingdom
 36 
Esthero
(Canadian Singer-Songwriter)
Esthero
2
Birthdate: December 23, 1978
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 37 
Shirley Horn
(Musician)
Shirley Horn
2
Birthdate: May 1, 1934
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Died: October 20, 2005
 38 
Cheryl Miller
(Actress)
Cheryl Miller
1
Birthdate: February 4, 1943
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Sherman Oaks, California, USA
 39 
Clare Teal
(Jazz musician, Singer)
Clare Teal
1
Birthdate: May 14, 1973
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kildwick
 40 
Marion Montgomery
(Singer, Musician)
Marion Montgomery
0
Birthdate: November 17, 1934
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Natchez, Mississippi, United States
Died: July 22, 2002
 41 
Sophie Milman
(singer, jazz musician)
Sophie Milman
1
Birthdate: 1983 AD
Birthplace: Ufa
 42 
Valaida Snow
(Jazz musician)
Valaida Snow
1
Birthdate: June 2, 1904
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Died: May 30, 1956
 43 
Helen Jones Woods
(Jazz musician)
Helen Jones Woods
1
Birthdate: September 30, 1923
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
Died: July 25, 2020
 44 
Dorothy Donegan
(Musician)
Dorothy Donegan
0
Birthdate: April 26, 1924
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 19, 1998
 45 
Malia
(Jazz musician, Singer)
Malia
1
Birthdate: 1978 AD
Birthplace: Malawi
 46 
Mariam Wallentin
(Musician)
Mariam Wallentin
1
Birthdate: July 28, 1982
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Örebro, Sweden
 47 
Marilyn Mazur
(Percussionist)
Marilyn Mazur
0
Birthdate: January 18, 1955
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
 48 
Zeena Parkins
(Musician)
Zeena Parkins
0
Birthdate: 1956 AD
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States
 49 
Corky Hale
(Harpist)
Corky Hale
0
Birthdate: July 3, 1936
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Freeport, Illinois, United States
 50 
Timna Brauer
(Singer-songwriter)
Timna Brauer
0
Birthdate: May 1, 1961
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria