Cyrille Aimée

About

Winner of the Montreux and Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competitions, the dynamic young Cyrille brings an exotic, highly rhythmic-based approach to jazz singing, incorporating a Gallic gypsy swing with hints of salsa and samba into well-worn standards and original compositions.

Born of a Dominican mother and French father, Aimée grew up in Samois-sur-Seine, France – a village most known for gypsy guitar icon Django Reinhardt– and you can hear that swinging influence in all of her performances and recordings. Bringing a global perspective to jazz, Aimée also melds Brazilian rhythms and melodies into her sound, having played and collaborated regularly with Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo.

Aimée’s love of gypsy jazz began as a child, sneaking into the gypsy caravans near her home to soak in the sounds and dances. She began singing in Parisian cafes and clubs as a teenager and even made it as a finalist onto Star Academy, France’s version of American Idol (she walked off in protest when she learned she couldn’t pick her own songs and music). Her big break came in 2007 when, on a whim, Aimée entered the famed Montreaux International Vocal Competition and surprised everyone by winning. A few years later she was a finalist at the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition (edged out by Cécile McLorin Salvant), and then won the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition in 2012. Those high profile appearances helped launch Aimée into the top echelon of jazz singers. After five self-released recordings (one of which was funded by her prize-winning performance at the Montreux International Vocal Competition), Aimée released It’s a Good Day in 2014, her first on a major record label. She followed that hugely successful debut with Let’s Get Lost, a loosely themed romantic album of jazz standards (with a few originals) which the Evening Standard called “a sophomore album that should fast-track the stardom she deserves.” In June 2018, Cyrille released her first concert recording, Cyrille Aimée Live, on Mack Avenue Records, which has received great critical reviews.