ZARA MCFARLANE
VOCALIST
JAZZ
Photo Credits: Ben Ridolfi, Kareem Abdul
General Management: Theresa Vibberts
Territory: North America
“A class act!”
ABOUT
Two Time Jazz FM vocalist of the year (2018 & 2015), singer-songwriter Zara McFarlane, is the UK’s foremost Black British Jazz Vocalist. McFarlane is known for her unique sound melding influences from jazz, reggae, folk and nu-soul.
Inspired by an exploration into Zara’s Jamaican heritage, which included an extended trip to Jamaica in 2018 meeting academics, and researching the early folk rhythms unique to the island, her new sound is the culmination of this research and weaves a subversion of the colonial legacy of slavery. An exploration of the meeting points between current electronic sounds and the traditional rhythms of Jamaica.
Zara first caught the attention of world renowned DJ Gilles Peterson on the release of her self- produced EP in 2010 and has released four studio albums on his label Brownswood Recordings and went on to win best Jazz Act at the MOBO awards (2014) and Urban Music Awards (2015). From her jazz roots, honing her craft with Tomorrow’s Warriors, Zara continues to push the boundaries of jazz adjacent music via an exploration into the folk and spiritual traditions of her ancestral motherland, Jamaica described as a ‘potent hybrid’ in ‘Arise’.
The twice Jazz FM vocalist of the year winner has led her band in festivals from British Summer Time (Hyde Park), Field Day and BoomTown Festivals to prestigious international jazz festivals and venues such as Ronnie Scott’s The Jazz Cafe, The Royal Albert Hall, Love Supreme (UK), Rochester Jazz (US), Cully Jazz (CH), St. Lucia Jazz Festivals and SXSW (US). With a voice that has been described as ‘a caressing voice of sparkling clarity’, Zara is an in-demand vocalist internationally and has performed with acclaimed musicians including High Masekela, Gregory Porter, Gary Bartz, Ernest Ranglin, Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd and Ezra Collective and collaborated with esteemed producers Lil’ Louie Vega, Swindle, Floating Points, Osunlade and Dennis Bovell.
To celebrate the centenary year of Sarah Vaughan’s birth, Zara McFarlane released her fourth album, “Sweet Whispers: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan”, on Eternal Source of Light / k7! Records.
For the 25/26 season, Zara and her three piece band (vocals, piano, double bass, drums) will perform selections from “Sweet Whispers,” along with numerous jazz favorites.