Female Jazz Musicians

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.

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.

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.

Ximena Sariñana is a Mexican actress and singer-songwriter whose debut album Mediocre earned her international recognition and a Grammy nomination in 2009. Ximena Sariñana is also known for her humanitarian efforts; in 2020, she took part in a charity single titled Resistiré México in an attempt to help those in need in Mexico.

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.

Gin Wigmore is a New Zealand singer-songwriter best known for her raspy and high pitched voice. Over the course of her career, Gin Wigmore has received several New Zealand Music Awards and a couple of nominations for the prestigious MTV Europe Music Awards. 

Montreal-based singer Nikki Yanofsky was 12 when she became the youngest artist to headline a show at the Montreal Jazz Festival. At 15, she was already an international star. Her credits include the 2010 Winter Olympics theme song, I Believe, which rocked the Canadian charts. She is also associated with children’s charities.

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.

Eliane Elias is a Brazilian singer, pianist, composer, and arranger. Her album Made in Brazil earned her the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2016. In 2022, Eliane Elias’ album Mirror Mirror won the Grammy Award under the Best Latin Jazz Album category.

Monica Zetterlund was a Swedish actress and jazz singer. She is best remembered for representing her country at the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Once Upon a Time in Stockholm. Monica Zetterlund achieved international recognition in 1964 when she released her collaborative album, Waltz for Debby.

Kayah is a Polish singer and songwriter best known for her expertise in a variety of music genres, such as dance, world, pop, soul, and jazz. Since 1995, when she released her first self-written album, Kayah has been recognized as one of the most commercially and critically successful Polish singers. She is also credited with co-founding her record label Kayax.

Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish vocalist, improviser, and songwriter. She achieved national prominence when she competed in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest where she represented her country with the song Ale jestem. Over the years, Anna Maria Jopek has been successful, winning awards such as Michel Legrand's Personal Award among others.