Zara McFarlane is a British jazz/soul singer and songwriter, based in East London. In October 2014, McFarlane was awarded the title of "Best Jazz Act" at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

. She has had four albums released by

Brownswood Recordings Brownswood Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Gilles Peterson in 2006. The label has released an eclectic range of music, reflecting Peterson's diverse musical taste. The roster includes Ben Westbeech, Ghostpoe ...

Early life

Zara McFarlane was born in London in 1983 and grew up on the borders of east London and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. She was born to parents of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n heritage, which has had a big influence on her musical tastes. She studied musical theatre at the

BRIT School The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, danc ...

, then went on to the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...

to study Popular Music Performance and completed a master's degree in jazz studies (vocals) at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. McFarlane came up through Tomorrow's Warriors, where she met many of the musicians she performs and collaborates with today.

Later life and career

McFarlane's debut album, ''Until Tomorrow'', was released by

in 2011. Her second album, ''If You Knew Her'', was released in 2014, also by Brownswood. She accompanied herself on guitar on "You'll Get Me in Trouble". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer of the album commented that "its identity derives from Ms. McFarlane's clear, elegant voice, and the musicians' training and influences". Her next album, ''Arise'', was released by the same label in 2017. She has collaborated with

Denys Baptiste Denys Baptiste (born 1969) is an English jazz musician from London, England, where he was born to St Lucian parents. A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste plays tenor and soprano saxophone in addition to composing. Baptiste played with ...

Orphy Robinson Orphy Robinson MBE (born 13 October 1960) is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, marimba, steelpans and drums. He has written music for television, film and theatre. Career Robinson ...

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

and

Jazz Jamaica Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London formed in 1991. History In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — on ...

. McFarlane's "If You Knew Her" tour in 2014 was praised by

John Fordham John Fordham (died 1425) was Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Ely. Fordham was keeper of the privy seal of Prince Richard from 1376 to 1377 and Dean of Wells before being named Lord Privy Seal in June 1377. He held that office until December 1381. ...

in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', describing her as having "magnetic eloquence". She has made television appearances on programmes around Europe, including '' Later... with Jools Holland'' (

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

), ''Un Lugar Llamado Mundo'' and the live broadcast of ''Victoires du Jazz''. She has also made radio appearances worldwide, with her most notable appearances on

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

's show on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

NTS Radio NTS Radio (also known as NTS Live or simply NTS) is an online radio station and media platform started in the Hackney area of London. The station was founded in April 2011 by Femi Adeyemi "for an international community of music lovers". NTS b ...

and

TSF Jazz TSF Jazz, previously known as TSF 89.9, is a jazz radio station in Paris, France, that was started in 1999 and owned by Nova Press. The station broadcasts in the Île-de-France: in Paris on 89.9 FM where it can almost be heard in the whole region ...

.TSF Jazz's Disc of the Day
29 January 2014.

Discography

As leader

* ''Until Tomorrow'' ( Brownswood, 2011) * ''If You Knew Her'' (Brownswood, 2014) * '' Arise'' (Brownswood, 2017) * ''Songs of an Unknown Tongue'' (Brownswood, 2020)

As guest

* ''Brownswood Bubblers Seven'',

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

(Brownswood, 2011) * ''Christmas Soul'', Barbara Dennerlein and Magnus Lindgren ( MPS, 2015)

References

External links

Official Zara McFarlane website

Zara McFarlane Discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, Zara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British women singer-songwriters British women jazz singers British soul singers Brownswood Recordings artists