ARTIST'S BIO

Elaine Dame, Chicago Jazz Singer, flautist, band leader and private vocal instructor, is a "Vocal dynamo...[and] continues to be a gem in the city's vocal jazz scene" according to TimeOut Chicago.  For more than fifteen years, Ms. Dame has headlined the finest venues in Chicago, the Midwest and the nation, and has collaborated with some of Chicago's most stellar musicians.  She has enjoyed residencies at such notable music rooms as the Fairmont Hotel's, Metropole Room, Pops for Champagne, Andy's Jazz Club, The Drake Hotel, Pete Miller's, Katerina's, and New York City's, Metropolitan Room.  Elaine also continues to be in demand for Chicago Corporate Events, Chicago Wedding Music and Private Parties.  Noteworthy clients include Paula Dean, Rachel Ray, The University of Chicago, Meyer Corporation, Northwestern Hospital, The Illinois Lottery, The Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, The Matthew Shepard Foundation, The Annual Driehaus Awards for Fashion Excellence, Lambda Legal and Hafele America. 

"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.

Ms. Dame studied music and theater at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA on a full classical voice and flute scholarship.  She participated in California State University's prestigious, two-year theater repertory program, where she graduated with a BA in Theater Arts.  She was born in Freeport, Illinois and spent her formative years in Stevensville, Michigan.

When Ms. Dame shifted her focus to jazz fifteen years ago (via a book called, "The Artist's Way"). She is inspired by the great jazz vocalists of the past:  Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae, and these days, she looks to the future for inspiration:  forever inspired by her colleagues, students and audience.

CONTACT AND HIRE CHICAGO, JAZZ SINGER, ELAINE DAME to perform at your next event or call 773.296.0831