Sara Serpa is a jazz vocalist from Lisbon, Portugal.

Career

For ten years Serpa studied classical piano and vocals, then studied jazz at the Lisbon Conservatory. After moving to Boston, she attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. She recorded her debut album ''Praia'' (Inner Circle Music, 2008) the same year she received a master's degree from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

. Her teachers included

Danilo Pérez Danilo Pérez (born December 29, 1965) is a Panamanian pianist, composer, educator, and a social activist. His music is a blend of Panamanian roots with elements of Latin American folk music, jazz, European impressionism, African, and other music ...

Dominique Eade Dominique Frances Eade (June 16, 1958) is an American jazz singer and composer. She has taught at the New England Conservatory. Career She attended Vassar College and the Berklee College of Music before finishing her degree at New England Conse ...

, and Ran Blake. Two years later she recorded ''Camera Obscura'' with her mentor Blake. Early in her career she performed with

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

at the Vanguard in New York City. She sang on Osby's album ''9 Levels''. In the ''DownBeat'' magazine Critics' Poll of 2019, she was voted the number one Rising Star among female vocalists. ''DownBeat'' named ''Intimate Strangers'' one of the top albums of 2022. Among the influences and musicians she admires, she has named

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

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 ...

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 music ...

, Carmen McRae,

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

, Maria João,

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 si ...

, Antonio Carlos Jobim,

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 Davi ...

, Bjork, Hermeto Pascoal,

Theo Bleckmann Theodor Raoul Bleckmann (born 28 May 1966) is a German singer and composer. Biography Bleckmann was born in Dortmund, West Germany. He planned to be an ice skater before becoming a vocalist. In 1989 he moved to New York City and recorded his ...

, Brad Mehldau, and

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

Discography

* ''Praia'' (Inner Circle Music, 2008) * ''Camera Obscura'' with Ran Blake (Inner Circle, 2010) * ''Mobile'' (Inner Circle, 2011) * ''Aurora'' with Ran Blake (Clean Feed, 2012) * ''Primavera'' with Andre Matos (Inner Circle, 2014) * ''Kitano Noir'' with Ran Blake (Sunnyside, 2015) * ''All the Dreams'' with Andre Matos (Sunnyside, 2016) * ''Close Up'' (Clean Feed, 2018) * ''Recognition'' (Biophilia, 2020) * ''Intimate Strangers'' (Biophilia, 2021) * ''Night Birds'' with Andre Matos (Robalo, 2023)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serpa, Sara Living people Women jazz singers 21st-century Portuguese women singers Singers from Lisbon Sunnyside Records artists Clean Feed Records artists Year of birth missing (living people)