Emma Smith

Award-winning British jazz vocalist Emma Smith is established as one of the most compelling voices on the international stage. With diverse and extensive experience performing everywhere from the Royal Albert Hall to the world’s leading jazz clubs, Emma has collaborated with the likes of Michael Bublé, the Quincy Jones Orchestra, Jeff Goldblum, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and jazz heavyweights including Jeremy Pelt and Wayne Escoffery, along the way building a formidable reputation as a powerful, expressive artist, cultivating a loyal and fast-growing global audience.

Over the past year, her global presence has accelerated rapidly, shaped by an extensive international touring schedulewith her trio, performing to sold-out audiences across the United States, Europe, and the UK. She is a regular at iconic venues including Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, Birdland in New York, Blue Note Milano, and Duc des Lombards in Paris, where additional dates are frequently added due to demand.

Growing up in a family of jazz musicians, it was perhaps inevitable that Emma would fall in love with this joyous, swinging music. With a saxophonist mother and a trumpeter-composer father, she was surrounded by jazz harmony, bebop records, and vocal improvisation from an early age. Her greatest influence, however, was her grandfather, an East End trombonist who performed with Sammy Davis Jr., Oscar Peterson, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra.

Emma says, “He never skipped a day’s practice. He taught me that you’re only as good as your last performance. I’ve adopted my Grandad’s work ethic, wide-eyed adoration for the music, deep gratitude for the life it gives me, and limitless ambition.”

Emma’s many accolades to date include the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Jazz Vocalist of the Year and Jazz Act of the Year at the Jools Holland Boisdale Music Awards. She is also a recipient of the Worshipful Company of Musicians Medal, and was named First Runner-Up at the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, selected from over 280 applicants across 37 countries. Alongside her solo career, Emma has enjoyed the widespread success of her long-established vocal harmony group, The Puppini Sisters, and spent four years as a broadcaster on BBC Radio 3.

Her critically acclaimed studio work has further cemented her reputation as a multifaceted artist, combining exceptional vocal ability with a deep understanding of the jazz tradition. Her breakout album Meshuga Baby amassed millions of streams and received widespread radio support from Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Cerys Matthews (BBC 6 Music), TSF Jazz, and Jazz FM.

Her recent follow-up album Bitter Orange, released via US label La Reserve, where she is the first UK artist to join the roster, has been met with widespread critical acclaim and multi-million streams. An intimate snapshot into the mind and personal life of a self-made artist, Bitter Orange captures Emma’s mission to be heard and make an impact in today’s world, pairing modern emotional honesty with a sound rooted in yesterday.