Biography
French vocalist Cyrille Aimée emerged in the 21st century as an award-winning artist whose jazz foundation incorporates gypsy swing, Brazilian bossa nova, and Latin rhythms. Early independent releases The Surreal Band from 2008 and the 2009 collection of jazz and bossa standards titled Smile, shared billing with guitarist Diego Figueiredo, drew notice from critics across Europe and America through her distinctive phrasing, bold concepts, and magnetic stage command. Victories at the Montreux Jazz Festival Vocal Competition and the Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition, along with finalist placement in the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition, preceded appearances at nearly every prominent jazz festival worldwide. Her first Mack Avenue project, the 2016 album Let's Get Lost, climbed to number 11 on the jazz albums chart.
Born in Fontainebleau during 1984 and raised in nearby Samois-sur-Seine by a French father and Dominican mother, Aimée discovered her interest in performance at a local Django Reinhardt Festival. Following high school she relocated to the United States and enrolled at the conservatory of jazz at SUNY Purchase, where a weekly engagement at a SoHo club in New York City quickly expanded into additional bookings and a firm place in the city's jazz community. After completing her studies in 2007 she captured first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition. Two years later she issued Cyrille Aimée & the Surreal Band and the Figueiredo collaboration Smile.
Finalist status at the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition in 2010 brought broader attention, the same year she reunited with Figueiredo on Just the Two of Us and documented Live at Smalls alongside trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Another live recording, Live at Birdland, appeared in 2013. The following year her Mack Avenue debut It's a Good Day showcased guitar work from Michael Valeanu, Adrien Moignard, and Guilherme Monteiro.
Let's Get Lost, her second Mack Avenue release from 2016, centered on romantic standards. After eleven weeks on the Jazz Albums chart and a number-11 peak, Aimée concluded an August engagement at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge with her longtime ensemble before relocating to New Orleans. Mack Avenue issued the concert recording Cyrille Aimée Live the next summer.
She returned in 2019 with the studio album Move On: A Sondheim Adventure. Drawing from her 2013 participation in the New York City Center production A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair, the project delved further into composer Stephen Sondheim's catalog, supported by keyboardist and co-producer Assaf Gleizner, pianist Thomas Enhco, bassist Jérémy Bruyère, drummer Yoann Serra, and additional musicians. The album reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and earned Aimée a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals on her version of Sondheim's "Marry Me a Little."
Born in Fontainebleau during 1984 and raised in nearby Samois-sur-Seine by a French father and Dominican mother, Aimée discovered her interest in performance at a local Django Reinhardt Festival. Following high school she relocated to the United States and enrolled at the conservatory of jazz at SUNY Purchase, where a weekly engagement at a SoHo club in New York City quickly expanded into additional bookings and a firm place in the city's jazz community. After completing her studies in 2007 she captured first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition. Two years later she issued Cyrille Aimée & the Surreal Band and the Figueiredo collaboration Smile.
Finalist status at the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition in 2010 brought broader attention, the same year she reunited with Figueiredo on Just the Two of Us and documented Live at Smalls alongside trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Another live recording, Live at Birdland, appeared in 2013. The following year her Mack Avenue debut It's a Good Day showcased guitar work from Michael Valeanu, Adrien Moignard, and Guilherme Monteiro.
Let's Get Lost, her second Mack Avenue release from 2016, centered on romantic standards. After eleven weeks on the Jazz Albums chart and a number-11 peak, Aimée concluded an August engagement at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge with her longtime ensemble before relocating to New Orleans. Mack Avenue issued the concert recording Cyrille Aimée Live the next summer.
She returned in 2019 with the studio album Move On: A Sondheim Adventure. Drawing from her 2013 participation in the New York City Center production A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair, the project delved further into composer Stephen Sondheim's catalog, supported by keyboardist and co-producer Assaf Gleizner, pianist Thomas Enhco, bassist Jérémy Bruyère, drummer Yoann Serra, and additional musicians. The album reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and earned Aimée a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals on her version of Sondheim's "Marry Me a Little."
Albums
Singles
