Chelsea Reed
“She’s a true extrovert…even when you watch her sing, she engages you and makes you feel like you’re part of the story.” -Jazz trumpet player, Terell Stafford
Chelsea Reed is a jazz vocalist, arranger, composer, and bandleader living in Philadelphia. She was born and raised in Easton, PA, with parents who encouraged singing at any and all times. She started studying classical voice at 9 years old, but falling in love with the many voices and stories of jazz, she began to explore that genre, eventually earning a degree in Jazz Vocal Performance.
With a penchant for 20th-century swing and blues music, Reed founded Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Band in October 2012. They have gone on to record four albums and tour around the world playing for swing and blues dancers. They've shared the stage and recorded with trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, who is featured on their 2017 release Spreadin’ Rhythm Around. Their most recent album, Carolina Lullaby (2020), showcases original songs steeped in jazz, blues, and folk traditions where Reed’s vocals and swing musicality shine.
Beyond the Fair Weather Band, Reed explores the many nuances of the jazz genre in duo, trio, quartet, and big band form. She is the featured vocalist with the Jack Saint Clair Orchestra, Josh Lee, and the Extended Family. She has had the opportunity to study with vocalists Carla Cook, Joanna Pascale, and Becca Stevens. She has shared the stage with Terell Stafford, Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Faddis, and Jimmy Heath. She appears on two Boyer College of Music and Dance (BCM&D Records) releases: Dear Dizzy: A Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie (2015) with the Temple University Jazz Band and That Music Always Round Me, a setting of Walt Whitman’s poetry by pianist Garry Dial and alto saxophonist, Dick Oatts.
Reed currently teaches jazz history and performance at Temple University.
Instagram: @chelseareedmusic
Listen on Spotify here.
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