Nina Ferro

Born on 6 September 1973 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Ferro took up singing during her early teens and soon developed a passion for jazz, even though her formal training remained rooted in classical technique. In 1991 she became a member of the Hotter Than Six ensemble alongside other emerging jazz players; the group performed regularly throughout Melbourne while she pursued further studies in the Improvisation Department at the Victorian College of the Arts. She also participated in the contemporary improvising collective Ten Apples On Top and joined Hotter Than Six on an Australian tour. Additional travels took her to Vanuatu for the South Pacific Jazz Festival and to the United States for the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in both 1994 and 1995.

In 1995 Ferro drew notice from mainstream media outlets for her distinctive appearance and personal style, resulting in her inclusion among Australia’s most eligible women. Discovered by Jim Cullum, she has served repeatedly as a featured guest on his Riverwalk concerts and radio broadcasts in San Antonio, Texas, and has also recorded alongside him. Her festival appearances have included events across Australia, Japan, the USA, and the Netherlands, while additional club and concert engagements have taken her throughout Europe, Scandinavia, and the Americas.

Among the many artists with whom she has performed and, in some cases, recorded are Tom Baker, Bob Barnard, Don Burrows, and pianists Joe Chindamo and Dick Hyman. Drawing on an extensive array of influences centered in jazz, and equipped with the vocal command to realize whatever her imagination conceives, Ferro has emerged as one of the most widely admired young vocalists to incorporate a substantial selection of pre-60s repertoire into her programs. To both that material and the contemporary songs she performs, she contributes a vocal timbre that is rich, powerful, and passionate.