JazzHouston Editor

Background

Cindy Scott is a passionate, risk-taking heart-singer who isn’t afraid to reveal her emotions in song. Cindy has walked a different path from the average jazz singer. Born and raised in a house full of music and musicians, she chose flute as her first instrument and went to LSU on a music scholarship. Uncertain about life as a professional musician but positive she wanted to travel the world, Cindy got an MBA, learned to speak German and Spanish, and spent several years living and working abroad. During one of these stints she discovered jazz and began singing in the jazz cellars of Germany with local musicians.

Cindy eventually found herself in Houston climbing the corporate ladder by day and playing jazz clubs by night. In 2005, she traded a successful business career for a life devoted to music and moved to New Orleans just months before Hurricane Katrina hit. She decided to return and complete her Masters in Music (Jazz Studies) from the University of New Orleans, a program founded by famed educator Ellis Marsalis and now led by guitar icon Steve Masakowski. She is now firmly rooted in the rich and diverse music scene of the Crescent City.

Cindy has found a happy marriage between her straight-ahead roots and the musical gumbo that pervades New Orleans. She always sings music she connects with, whether jazz standards, unexpected genre-bending choices, or her own originals. Her most recent CD, Let the Devil Take Tomorrow, was voted New Orleans’ Best Contemporary Jazz Recording for 2010, a huge honor in a field that included projects by Christian Scott and Donald Harrison. The recording was also listed in Offbeat Magazine’s 2010 top 40 Louisiana releases in all genres. About Cindy's music, four-time Grammy nominee jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson says, “It’s a personal approach that’s most affecting about Cindy...the warmth that comes through...she’s the real deal."

PERFORMANCES

Cindy Scott has shared the stage with Mark Murphy, Karrin Allyson, Roseanna Vitro, Randy Porter, Badal Roy, Carlos Malta, Herlin Riley, and Ellis Marsalis, among many others.

Cindy plays regularly in New Orleans and has had recent performances in Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, and Mexico, as well as in US cities including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Kansas City. She has appeared at festivals around the world, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

Learn more at www.CindyScott.us.

Location

New Orleans

Occupation

Vocalist

Music That Inspires Me

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Films I'll Watch More Than Once

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