Brianna Thomas

Brianna Thomas is an American jazz singer, vocalist, composer, songwriter, band leader, and percussionist. She was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois, United States. She made her singing debut at the age of six. She is the daughter of drummer and vocalist Charlie Thomas. She is known as being one of the best young straight ahead young jazz singers, says music critic and author Will Friedwald. She is known to bring together various forms of American music from bluegrass to jazz in to an original hybrid of jazz/funk/rock and soul. Her voice is said to be strong and her range huge. She incorporates rare music in her repertoire of early female blues and jazz pioneers such as Bessie Smith, Victoria Spivey, Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, Mamie Smith, and Ida Cox. All About Jazz said of her 2015 debut album, You Must Believe in Love, “Brianna Thomas is the complete package. Through this music she exhibits emotional depth, to-die-for scat skills, incredible pitch control and shading, strong songwriting skills, intuitively elastic phrasing, soulful bearing, and a great range.”

She is compared to Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter and Dianne Reeves, singing ballad standards, cabaret music, Scat singing, and blues. She specializes in the 30s-style swing music. She is a Jazz at Lincoln Center regular. She is stated as being a down-to-earth Midwestern musician, embracing many flavors in her artistry from cha-cha, Afro Cuban, gospel, blues, swing, ballads, jazz standards, funk, soul, classic swing music.