Zara McFarlane - Artist-in-Residence
Cambridge Jazz Festival are proud to welcome multi-award winning Jazz Vocalist Zara McFarlane as our Artist-in-Residence (Music).
As part of Zara's residency, Cambridge Jazz Festival audiences will have the unique opportunities to witness and enjoy her artistry in two high profile concerts.
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Zara first caught the attention of world renowned DJ Gilles Peterson on the release of her self- produced EP in 2010 and has released four studio albums on his label Brownswood Recordings, later going on to win Best Jazz Act at the MOBO awards (2014) and Urban Music Awards (2015). From her jazz roots, honing her craft with Tomorrow’s Warriors, Zara continues to push the boundaries of jazz adjacent music via an exploration into the folk and spiritual traditions of her ancestral motherland, Jamaica described as a ‘potent hybrid’ in Arise.
With a voice that has been described as ‘a caressing voice of sparkling clarity’, Zara is an in-demand vocalist internationally and has performed with acclaimed musicians including Hugh Masekela, Gregory Porter, Gary Bartz, Ernest Ranglin, Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd and Ezra Collective, and collaborated with esteemed producers Lil’ Louie Vega, Swindle, Floating Points, Osunlade and Dennis Bovell.