Madeline Louise Eastman (born June 27, 1954) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer. At 18, while watching the movie '' Lady Sings the Blues'' Eastman became enchanted with Diana Ross's portrayal of vocalist

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

. Not yet realizing how serious and dedicated she would need to be, Eastman considered becoming a jazz singer. She has listened to

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, particularly his 1960s quintet with

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. Among vocalists, her prime inspiration is

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

, in addition to

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and Sarah Vaughan. She began performing publicly in 1974 at Shenanigan's in Palo Alto. Eastman has sung in Japan, Finland, New York City, San Francisco, and at the

Cotati Jazz Festival The Cotati Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cotati, California Cotati (; Miwok: ''Kota’ti'') is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco in the 101 cor ...

, Monterey Jazz Festival, and the Glasgow Jazz Festival. She has taught at the

Stanford Jazz Workshop Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to jazz education and the annual concert series known as the Stanford Jazz Festival. SJW was founded in 1972 by saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel. Though many of its activities a ...

and at the

Jazzschool The California Jazz Conservatory is a private conservatory in Berkeley, California. It is the only independent music conservatory in the United States devoted solely to jazz and related styles of music. Located in the Downtown Berkeley Arts Distr ...

in Berkeley, California.Berkeley Jazz School
Eastman and vocalist

Kitty Margolis Kitty Margolis (born November 7, 1955 in San Mateo, California) is an American jazz singer who founded Mad Kat Records with vocalist Madeline Eastman. She won the Talent Deserving Wider Recognition award in the critics' poll at ''Down Beat'' m ...

started the record label Mad Kat. She has recorded with pianists Cedar Walton and Kenny Barron, saxophonist

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Tony Williams. In 2004, Eastman won third place in the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine Readers' Poll for Best Female Jazz Vocalist and made the list of Talent Deserving Wider Recognition in the Critics' Poll.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastman, Madeline 1954 births Living people Jazz musicians from San Francisco Singers from San Francisco American jazz singers American women jazz singers 21st-century American women