Biography
New York-based vocalist Jazzmeia Horn commands attention through her inventive, vocalese-inflected approach to jazz singing, an approach that secured victories at both the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition and the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition. The Monk triumph opened further doors, bringing Grammy nominations for the 2017 album A Social Call and the 2019 follow-up Love & Liberation, each containing her own compositions. She next demonstrated her command of large-ensemble writing on the 2020 big-band project Dear Love, then returned to intimate small-group settings with the 2024 release Messages.
Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1991, Horn was raised in an environment rich with creativity and spiritual values. Her earliest exposure to singing came through her grandmother, a gospel pianist whose deep affinity for jazz left a lasting impression. Although she performed throughout childhood, it was during her teenage years at Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts that jazz captured her imagination. A composition teacher there played Sarah Vaughan recordings, prompting Horn to absorb Vaughan’s phrasing and tonal nuances; she soon expanded her listening to instrumental masters such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis. After graduation she refined her craft at Manhattan’s New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where her emerging abilities earned multiple Down Beat student music awards. Upon completing her studies in 2009 she established herself in New York, sharing stages with Billy Harper, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mike LeDonne, Peter Bernstein, Vincent Herring, and numerous other leading figures.
Her career gained decisive momentum with the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition victory in Newark. Two years later she confirmed her stature by claiming first prize at the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition. The Monk award facilitated her 2017 debut album, A Social Call, issued on Concord Records; the recording earned a Grammy nomination and led to a performance at the Grammy ceremony. She followed with Love & Liberation in 2019, which included a reading of Erykah Badu’s “Green Eyes” and received another Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In 2020 Horn presented her first big-band effort, the Grammy-nominated Dear Love, realized with her fifteen-member Noble Force ensemble. October 2024 brought Messages, her third studio album of primarily original material, which also revisited the standard “You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me” and featured trumpeter Marquis Hill as guest.
Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1991, Horn was raised in an environment rich with creativity and spiritual values. Her earliest exposure to singing came through her grandmother, a gospel pianist whose deep affinity for jazz left a lasting impression. Although she performed throughout childhood, it was during her teenage years at Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts that jazz captured her imagination. A composition teacher there played Sarah Vaughan recordings, prompting Horn to absorb Vaughan’s phrasing and tonal nuances; she soon expanded her listening to instrumental masters such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis. After graduation she refined her craft at Manhattan’s New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where her emerging abilities earned multiple Down Beat student music awards. Upon completing her studies in 2009 she established herself in New York, sharing stages with Billy Harper, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mike LeDonne, Peter Bernstein, Vincent Herring, and numerous other leading figures.
Her career gained decisive momentum with the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition victory in Newark. Two years later she confirmed her stature by claiming first prize at the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition. The Monk award facilitated her 2017 debut album, A Social Call, issued on Concord Records; the recording earned a Grammy nomination and led to a performance at the Grammy ceremony. She followed with Love & Liberation in 2019, which included a reading of Erykah Badu’s “Green Eyes” and received another Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In 2020 Horn presented her first big-band effort, the Grammy-nominated Dear Love, realized with her fifteen-member Noble Force ensemble. October 2024 brought Messages, her third studio album of primarily original material, which also revisited the standard “You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me” and featured trumpeter Marquis Hill as guest.
Albums
Singles
