Violette de Bartillat

After having studied piano and percussion at a Parisian conservatory, Violette started singing at age fifteen. Armed with a solid vocal technique gained by the study of the classical repertoire, she soon felt a need for a a greater freedom of expression. One year later, she fell under the spell of the Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong duo recordings, which awakened her to jazz and Afro-American music. She discovered then with this music an incomparable creative mode that she began to explore further in Paris (Black Music School, Centres de Musiques Didier Lockwood) and in the United States (Berklee College of Music). Her repertoire appears like a delicate blend of Traditional Gospels, Jazz Standards, Soul classics and originals. At the early age of 22, Arranger-Singwriter Violette sings thus her passion for the Afro-American music and culture. She has been performing in Parisian Jazz clubs as well as in Dakar, Boston, New York, St. Marteen, Prague and Dubai (Arabian Court). In 2006, she took part in several Jazz Springboards suchas as "Jazz a Vannes" and "Jazz a Crest". That same year, she co-wrote and recorded the song Dorian Island on the amazing ENHCO debut Album Esquisses. Her warm and inviting voice, tinged with the diverse influences of jazz, blues, soul & gospel, immerses you in the heart of a genuine emotional experience.