Music Bio
Her style blends elements from nu and smooth jazz, spoken word and classic songwriting.
The daughter of professional musicians Claire wrote songs as a child, sang in the school choir and went on to sing in bands and ensembles.
In 2010 she won the PureSolo vocal competition in association with Jazz FM and went on to study a Masters in performance (jazz) at the Guildhall School of Music in 2014.
With some early life challenges and later as a single mother while developing her music career and studying it’s been a longer journey but all that experience comes out in the timeline of her songs.
In 2018 she released her debut album Caminos (Turquoise Coconut Records) whose themes are about searching to find her voice and a sense of belonging. In 2023 her 2nd release EP No Mud, No Lotus (also with Turquoise Coconut Records) spoke about discovering beauty and good things that can come out of hardship and challenge.
Musical Influences
With classical influences from her flautist mother and jazz influences from her sax and clarinettist father combined with a personal desire to push boundaries, ask questions, search and experiment she is drawn to contemparary artists that have created uniqe and orignal material such as Kae Tempest, Esperanza Spalding, Kate Bush, Liane Le Havas and Imogen Heap while keeping the richness of the jazz maestras such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita O’Day.
She has studied or worked with Dennis Rollins, Kate Williams, Ian Shaw, Liane Carroll, Brigitte Beraha, Carlos Lopez-Real, Scott Stroman and Malcolm Edmonstone to name a few.
Her music and words strike “…an exquisite balance between captivating poeticism and softly-lit musical soundworlds” – John Garner.
“Beautiful” – Robert Elms, BBC Radio London.
“Lovely stuff Claire! Really pleased to have discovered your work. Great writing, great words, beautiful singing, fantastic piano in ‘Presence'” – Martin Pyne, Composer, Improviser, Percussionist.
“Minds (Caminos) is an emotive release featuring soulful vocal performances, delicate instrumentation and an addictive vibe. This excellent release needs to be heard” – @fvmusicblog
“Minds (Caminos) is rich with such directed and deep lyrics behind a voice filled with melancholy. It goes straight to the heart. It is inspired by talent and professional experience” – New Artist Discoveries
Claire has played at venues such as The Barbican, The Guardian Hay Festival, Hampton Court Palace, The Princes Hall, and The Reform Club.
In her EP No Mud, No Lotus (2023) Claire joined talented pianist/composer Giuliano Parisi again (Giuliano played on Caminos). Writing for this started in 2021 in the aftermath of the pandemic and finished early 2023. The songs speak about challenges common to many of us and the unexpected beauty that can come from them, not unlike the message of the book of the same title, written by Zen Bhuddist Thich Nhat Hanh. Performances of this work include dancer and movement collector Martin Bowes.
Her new track Connected comes from her 3rd album which is yet to be finished. It is a departure from the softly-lit soundscapes of her previous releases and a venture into a more electronic feel including spoken word.
This reflects a new energy and freedom emerging.
Jazz Vocalist and Holistic Life Coach
She is also an holistic life coach and author with a background in teaching and counselling. Her life experience provides rich resource for writing about our shared human experiences often asking questions or describing challenges and exploring ways to find meaning and joy.
She is working on her third release currently which explores themes of our interconnectedness and commonality which can get forgotten leading to unnecessary conflict, war and friction. The songs present a new sonic territory including an electronica feel, fusing spoken word with harmony and bringing some new musicians to join the project.