Jazz singer hire in Australia: the complete guide

A jazz singer is hired to make a room feel expensive without anybody noticing why. The songs are familiar enough to be comfortable and unfamiliar enough that nobody sings along, which is precisely the effect you want during canapes, a dinner service or a gallery opening.

This is a working musician's trade with its own conventions, and understanding two of them will make your booking go smoothly. One is how the singer works with players. The other is keys. Prices below are live from the vocalists listed here.

Unlike most singer categories, jazz vocalists rarely work to backing tracks. They work with players, and the standard shapes are voice and piano, voice and guitar, a trio with bass and drums, or a quartet. What you are booking is a vocalist plus a number of chairs, and the fee follows that number.

The players often change between gigs, which is completely normal in jazz and not a warning sign. What matters is that the singer has a regular pool and can tell you who is likely to be on your date.

Jazz singers carry written charts of their repertoire in their own keys, and that folder is the working document of the booking. It is why a jazz vocalist can walk into a room with players they have not met and sound rehearsed.

So if you want a specific song, ask early enough for a chart to be written and transposed. A request made a fortnight out is easy. A request made at the venue is either a no or a rough version, and the singer is not being difficult when they say so.

These are different bookings and it is worth naming which one you want. A background set sits under conversation, stays mid-tempo and never demands attention. A feature set has the room facing the stage, takes solos, plays with dynamics and expects to be listened to.

Many events want both across a night, and an experienced vocalist will pace the evening that way without being asked. Just make sure the hours in the quote cover the whole arc rather than only the part you thought about.

The core catalogue is the mid-century songbook, and there is a reason it has lasted. Alongside it sit Brazilian bossa nova, which is the ideal outdoor summer sound in this country, and jazz readings of contemporary pop, which is how a modern song gets into a formal room without breaking the mood.

Ask what proportion of each the singer is comfortable with. Some are purists, some enjoy the modern arrangements, and both are legitimate. It only becomes a problem when you assume.

How many players is this price for, and who are they likely to be? Do you have charts for our request, and when do you need to know? Is this a background set or a feature set? Do you provide the sound system or does the venue? And does the venue piano need tuning, if there is one?

The piano question is worth raising with the venue as well. A neglected upright will undo a fine pianist, and finding out on the day helps nobody.