Soesja Citroen

Although Soesja Citroen remains relatively obscure in the United States, she ranks among Holland’s foremost jazz vocalists and has long earned admiration throughout European jazz communities. Abbey Lincoln, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald rank among her key influences, and she brings both an emotionally vivid approach to lyric interpretation and notable skill as a composer and lyricist. Dutch is her first language, yet her command of English is strong, allowing her to sing with only a faint Dutch accent. Born and raised in The Hague, she relocated to Amsterdam as a young adult to continue her studies, ultimately obtaining a master’s degree in social psychology. At age 32 she issued her first recording, the 1980 album To Build, then followed with seven additional releases during the 1980s on the Turning Point, Varagram, and Timeless labels. European jazz critics greeted her 1983 Turning Point project Soesja Citroen Sings Thelonious Monk with enthusiastic praise and continue to regard it as one of her strongest works. Another thematically focused effort that drew similar approval from those same writers was the 1987 Varagram album Soesja Citroen sings Fred Astaire. Throughout the 1990s she maintained a steady output on Varajazz and Challenge, frequently collaborating with the esteemed British producer Chris Ellis.