Elaine Dame

ARTIST'S BIO

“Dame has risen to the top ranks of Chicago jazz singers, with a musicality that allows her to improvise things most singers shouldn't even try. She possesses everything one could want in a true jazz vocalist: centered intonation, an enviable command of rhythm, and a translucent but powerful instrument.” ~ Neil Tesser, Grammy award-winning critic and Author, The Playboy Guide to Jazz

Elaine Dame, jazz vocalist, band leader, recording artist and private vocal jazz instructor, is a “Vocal dynamo...[and] continues to be a gem in the city's vocal jazz scene” according to Time Out Chicago. Since 1997, Dame has headlined the finest venues in Chicago, the Midwest and the nation, collaborating with some of the finest jazz instrumentalists. She has enjoyed residencies at such notable music rooms as the Rainbow Room, Michael Feinstein's 54 Below and the Metropolitan Room in New York City - and in Chicago, Elaine headlined the 2015 Chicago Jazz Festival and appears regularly at Winter's Jazz Club and The Jazz Showcase, to name but a few.

“Comes Love,” Ms. Dame's debut recording on the blujazz record label, was released to wide critical acclaim and international radio play. “Her joy in the act of singing is obvious throughout the entirety of 'Comes Love.' Dame combines a freshness of approach with an unaffected fondness for the music she sings. The result is a clear-eyed approach to her material that remains accessible to a broad cross section of listeners, potentially enlarging the audience for jazz,” says Jazz Improv Magazine.

ARTIST'S BIO

Elaine’s self-produced sophomore recording “You’re My Thrill” was released on December 1st, 2014 and has garnered rave reviews. Neil Tesser, Grammy award- winning writer and author,The Playboy Guide to Jazz said this: “Elaine possesses an exacting, exhilarating command of melodic lines and emotional currents. It helps that she has pinpoint intonation: in performance, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard her miss her mark, even on difficult leaps or drops in a melody line. But she handles those intervals with a dancer’s grace and a nuanced attack,which allow the line to unfold seamlessly. She floats through a melody without any apparent; to appreciate her musicianship, listen to most other singers handle the same material (you can practically hear them sweat). And Dame’s phrasing manages to wed an improviser’s expressiveness with a welcome fidelity to the words and their meaning.”

For the past ten years, in addition to her consistent work as a jazz singer, Ms. Dame has been a private jazz vocal instructor and was honored to have been a 2013 teaching artist at Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Summer Jazz Academy, where she taught scatting workshops.

Show less

January 18, 2012

Chicago Jazz Great Makes Big Apple Debut at NYC's Metropolitan Room

“Elaine Dame sings standards with old-school insouciance, bringing plenty of rhythmic oomph to the swing she generates with her band (pianist Dennis Luxion, bassist Jake Vinsel, drummer Jon Dietemyer, and guitarist Andy Brown). But her devotion to classic jazz aesthetics doesn’t prevent her from mining gold from more contemporary sources—she makes agile vehicles of songs by the likes of Richard Thompson and Joni Mitchell.” ~Peter Margasak ~ The Chicago Reader

“Her new album You’re My Thrill is exactly what you’d expect from a consummate pro here in Chicago. The sidemen are a who’s who of top notch players in town, and the arrangements are refreshingly well thought out. There’s a lot to like here, from a rather grooving take on “You’re My Thrill” to a really nice run through of “I Was Doing All Right.” ~WDCB Jazz Radio

“Dame’s interpretive gifts-which are through the roof-do what jazz is meant to do: turn these well-worn tunes into a revelatory and often very witty set of commentaries on each other. This song list is constructed like a roller-coaster ride over the radiant heights and the devastated depths of the modern landscape of modern romance. Her voice is capable of doing whatever she asks of it-from an extended staccato run to a single word teased by a beguiling melisma – but it’s the choices behind these technical feats that are the real story. Everything is in the service of of the narrative; the beauty of her instrument is guided by the shrewdness of her instincts and her instincts are infallible.” ~New City

“Her joy in the act of singing is obvious throughout the entirety of “Comes Love.” Dame combines a freshness of approach, like the unpredictability of shifting meters Used to insert tension and increase the excitement of “Yesterdays,” with an unaffected fondness for the music she sings. That fondness is evident in the unadorned respect she pays for a classic song like “What’ll I Do?” The result is a clear-eyed approach to her material that remains accessible to a broad cross section of listeners, potentially enlarging the audience for jazz.” ~ Jazz Improv Magazine

“Dame takes songs and puts a unique stamp on them and while the arrangements and their performances are first-rate, it’s Dame’s vocals that create the most interest… The achingly raw honesty, coupled with her fresh take makes “Comes Love” a recommended addition to one’s jazz library” ~ Gay Chicago Magazine

“From the start, it was apparent that Dame offered optimism, enthusiasm, and joy for both her partners and the jazz standards they played together. This musical attitude was just as appealing as her considerable vocal and flute playing skills...her intelligent phrasing proves she actually listens to the lyrics that she sings...a resounding musical success...” ~ Chicago Jazz Magazine

“Blessed with such purity of sound that clarions could take lessons, Dame expresses wide open honesty, and her clarity is matched note for note by her imagination...” ~ Jazz Times

”And artist who truly wants to sing and has dug deep down to do it. Dame’s first CD is very smooth and stylish. Every track is note perfect… an intimate, personal style… interpretation is clearly her forte, she shapes a song like she’s been doing it for years… Dame delivers the perfect twists and turns on every phrase, swinging from a whisper to a husky wail with confidence and panache” ~ Jazzreview.com

“a clear and powerful voice along with the ability to improvise with subtlety…an excellent scat singer…beautiful tone” ~ All Music Guide

“…a winning stage presence and a chameleon-like vocal flexibility” ~ The Chicago Reader

“Dame’s cool alto voice fits nicely with her instrumental support” ~ Cadence Magazine

Show less

Primary Instrument

Vocalist

Location

Chicago

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

JAZZ SINGING LESSONS Elaine Dame, professional jazz vocalist and recording artist with fifteen years experience in the industry, is now accepting vocal jazz students in Chicago and the surrounding area. Learn correct breathing and posture, increase your range, endurance and control and learn the fundamentals of theory, phrasing, scatting and interpretation, with an emphasis on individuality, creativity and fun! My vocal instruction rates are extremely reasonable. FROM MY FIRST STUDENT "Thank you very much for having wonderful lessons