Malia

Born in Malawi to a family blending African and English roots, the British jazz singer Malia possesses a vocal instrument noted for its strength and sensuality. Her early years in that compact East African nation, which shares borders with Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, offered scant musical stimulation: only two local radio signals reached her neighborhood, one broadcasting in Chewa and the other in English, while her father’s collection centered almost exclusively on the Beatles. Political turmoil prompted her family’s relocation to London at age fourteen, where she quickly absorbed the dance-driven new-wave currents then prevalent across the British capital. Exposure to Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday soon followed, reshaping her perspective through the discovery of major Black artists previously unknown to her.

After completing her schooling, Malia took a job as a waitress and assembled a backing band, performing ballads and jazz standards in venues throughout London. A pivotal moment arrived during a trip to New York City, when she encountered a French-language pop-jazz recording by vocalist Liane Foly at a café; the track had been produced by Berklee School of Music alumnus Andre Manoukian. Captivated by its blend of styles, she reached out to Manoukian, and their mutual artistic respect led to the creation of her debut album, Yellow Daffodils, issued in 2002. Although its lyrics were in English, the record brought widespread acclaim in France and Germany. Her next projects, Echoes of Dreams in 2004 and Young Bones in 2007, earned praise from European jazz listeners for Malia’s distinctive smoky timbre and nuanced phrasing.

In 2012 she released Black Orchid, offering interpretations of thirteen compositions linked to Nina Simone. A shift in direction came with the 2014 album Convergence, a partnership with Boris Blank of the veteran electronic pop outfit Yello. For 2017’s Malawi Blues/Njira she wrote the majority of the material alongside keyboardist Alex Wilson. Malia has since established herself as an international figure, frequently charting on European and U.K. soul and jazz listings.