The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation presents a special concert called Summer SOULstice, featuring three of our city's most captivating singers: Germaine Bazzle, Sharon Martin and Leah Chase.

The concert takes place Saturday, June 25, at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center, 1225 N. Rampart Street.

Admission is free. The concert begins at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m. No advance registration is required.

Germaine Bazzle
One of the true legends of New Orleans jazz, Germaine Bazzle has a voice that’s distinctive for its rich, honeyed tone and sweet warmth. Although she spent much of her career in education, she also has performed around New Orleans and around the world to great acclaim. Influenced by such greats as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstein, Germaine excels with a repertoire that spans classic jazz, American popular songs, show tunes, the music of Duke Ellington and much more. Her regal demeanor is balanced onstage by swinging playfulness – especially when she starts scatting like a trombone!

Sharon Martin
New Orleans blues and jazz singer Sharon Martin is one of the great treasures of the Crescent City. She has been singing professionally since the late 1980s, and has established herself as one of our favorites with a range of styles and emotions that she conveys with ease. Soulful, powerful and joyful one moment, delicate and subdued the next – Sharon draws her audience in with her warm personality. Small wonder that she has worked with a who’s who of major artists, from Joe Sample and Benny Carter to New Orleans legends Dave Bartholomew and Wilson “Willie T” Turbinton, among many others. In 2012 she earned rave reviews starring as the late, great Billie Holiday in "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" at New Orleans’ Juju Bag Café, where she continues to perform regularly.

Leah Chase
The daughter of acclaimed chef and restaurateur Leah Chase and bandleader/trumpeter Dookie Chase, singer Leah Chase mixes her passion for old jazz standards with her wry sense of humor. Her performances always promise stellar vocals and quite a few laughs. Leah's voice is one that evokes an "old soul" sentiment of warmth and emotion from the first note. It's a voice that speaks volumes. Whether it's hitting those impossible high notes or scatting her way through some bebop jazz standards, Leah always captivates her audience with a powerfully soulful delivery. She also is the vocal instructor for our Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, where she also directs the Jazz & Heritage A Capella Jazz Choir.

The singers will be backed by the George French Band. They’ll take turns performing for the majority of the concert, then will join onstage for a rousing finale.

This free event is produced and presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit that owns the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell. The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest - and other raised funds - for year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural enrichment. For more on what we do, please visit us online at www.jazzandheritage.org.