With her unique voice, lo-fi beats and samples, Melanie Charles seeks innovation in jazz, aimed at a new generation of listeners. As a singer and flutist she could be heard alongside known artists in both jazz and hip-hop, from Lakecia Benjamin and Wynton Marsalis tot SZA, Gorillaz and The Roots. This year she made her major label debut on Verve Records with the album Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women, her tribute to female pioneers in jazz.

For the album, Melanie Charles dove into the rich Verve catalogue and dug up songs by women who paved the way for her, from Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Marlena Shaw and Abbey Lincoln. She remixes the songs with samples of the original recordings and conversations with female artists. This year Melanie Charles also released the album Hotel San Claudio in collaboration with producers Shigeto and Mark De Clive-Lowe. Before that, she also released productions under the name D’Flower, in the cassette underground of Brooklyn, New York.

Melanie Charles vocals/samplers/flute, Zacchae’us Paul keys/synthesizers, Gengis Don drums