Claudia Campagnol music @ All About Jazz

Updated: September 21, 2019

Born: February 22, 1987

I was born in 1987 in Budapest, Hungary, to parents who are both professional musicians. I sang before I could talk, and started playing the piano when I was 4. The whole family moved to Sweden, and by the age of 12 I could be seen “guesting” on my parents’ gigs in venues all around the country.

After discovering my dad's fusion albums with Chick Corea, John Patitucci, Mezzoforte, and others, I more or less stopped listening to vocalists. One night before I went to sleep, I listened to Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and woke up abruptly a few hours later with a song in my head. I quickly had to play it and write it down. Rainbow Dreams was born. I was 12, and I remember my dad came in to my room and said: “Girl, it's three in the morning. Stop playing or you'll be late for school tomorrow. Again”.

After graduating from the University of Music in Malmoe, I – then appearing as Claudia Dancs – rapidly established myself as one of the leading singers of my generation.

In 2009, I had the honor of singing backing vocals with a gospel choir at one of Stevie Wonder's shows. Working with Stevie inspired me a lot, and when I arrived back home early in the morning, after having had conversations with him about God and music, I sat down by the piano, and the song All Through You just burst out of my head, all at once.

After several years of working in Sweden and around Europe, I settled in Copenhagen, Denmark, where I met the Swedish-Italian drummer, Niclas Campagnol. I love to be in the spotlight, but this one man, who treated me like a queen for several years, couldn't bear me ignoring his feelings and stopped calling me. That's when I realized how much I loved him. I recorded Do You Love Me and sent it to him, and after that, Niclas and I were inseparable.