Chelsea Crowe

Chelsea Crowe began her professional career as a vocalist with James McBride, who is an esteemed musician and the author of the New York Times best-selling novel, The Color of Water. She briefly toured with McBride to different colleges in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. When she was a freshman in college she opened for Tony Bennett at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center located in Newark, New Jersey, and later that same year was flown to Lake Como Italy to sing in a wedding with a German quartet. Last year she placed fourth in the online International Jazz Connect vocal competition and was selected as one of the judge’s favorites. She performs on a regular basis in Manhattan, NY where she has been lucky enough to work with Paulo Braga, who was Antonio Carlos Jobim’s drummer for the last 15 years of his life. Chelsea is currently performing with the Charli Persip big band, Supersound, in NYC, and will be singing on the next live recording of the big band, to be held at Minton's Playhouse in late September. Most recently, Crowe opened for Diana Krall and Chris Botti at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on July 8.

Chelsea just graduated from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and during her four years in the program was fortunate enough to have studied, performed, and recorded with a number of highly respected musicians, including, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Jackson, Andy McKee, Junior Mance, Chico Hamilton, Joe Chambers, and Rosanna Vitro. Crowe was cast in the fall of 2006 as the lead role in the Independent Film, Rebecca's Window, which was chosen for the NY International Independent Film Festival, in which the film won an award. Crowe has extensive experience in the jazz idiom but also desires to have a career focused on soul and R&B music. Her favorite artists range from Dinah Washington to Donny Hathaway. Crowe hopes to have a demo of original music recorded by the end of the summer that will feature originals by both her and her father. She hopes to create a demo with a soulful acoustic sound and a strong back beat, reminiscent of the music of some of her favorite artists but intends to maintain a strong connection to her jazz roots.