Tammy Scheffer Septet

Jazz vocalist Tammy Scheffer’s strong improvisation skills, light soprano voice and wide range of vocal abilities have gained her appreciation from fellow musicians and audiences alike. Lately she has been chosen to participate in the exclusive Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead workshop, a program that will take place in Washington and Philadelphia, and will include three concerts on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage which will be broadcast live over the internet. In January 2008 she was invited to perform in Manhattan’s Drom club with Ayelet Rose Gotlieb’s project “Mayim Rabim,” which brings together Jewish music and modern jazz. Being especially interested in translating instrumental qualities to singing, Ms. Scheffer is currently involved in a number of projects that explore this relationship. Such is a vocal sextet for which Ms. Scheffer adapts compositions written by bass player Dave Holland for a big band, and an original modern jazz quartet, led by guitar player Assaf Kehati, in which her role is similar to that of a lead horn player.

Before moving to Boston in 2007, Ms. Scheffer was an active member of the jazz scene in Israel. She has performed repeatedly in the country’s premier jazz clubs, such as the Yellow Submarine club in Jerusalem and the Shablul Jazz Club in Tel Aviv. She also performed in Israel’s national festival as a featured vocalist of the Modi’in big band, and was a guest vocalist in a performance of US based vocalist Kevin Mahogany in Tel Aviv.

In addition to performing, Ms. Scheffer has spent the last five years teaching voice, improvisation and music theory in several music schools in Israel as well as privately. After being offered scholarships from the New School of Music in New York, Berklee College of Music in Boston and the New England Conservatory, Ms. Scheffer chose to attend the latter to pursue a Bachelor’s degree. She is a student of Jerry Bergonzi and Dominique Eade.