Jamila Ford - Deep End

Award-winning jazz/soul singer/songwriter Jamila Ford has garnered attention for her sizable singing chops. Her slight frame belies her bewitchingly powerful voice. She gets your attention. Or more accurately, the Los Angeles-based singer's smooth mezzo-soprano makes you turn your head to give her a second listen. Drawing influences from jazz to R&B to pop, she can give you a history of 50 years of American popular music during one of her sets, with her sultry voice providing the linchpin. Majoring in music with an emphasis in vocal performance, Jamila attended the University of California Riverside graduating with her BA in 2001. Since then, Ford has performed around the world as a solo artist and as a backing vocalist, lending her talent to the projects of artists such as multi-platinum selling jazz artist Melody Gardot (Spring/Summer 2012 Canada & European Tour), Spiritualized (Coachella Festival), and Bonnie Pointer (Pointer Sisters). Her new EP, The Deep End, is a collection of reinterpreted standards and an original composition. Ford's smoky, sophisticated, and self-assured vocals breathe new life into "All Blues," "Gentle Rain," "Sugar," and "Wild Is the Wind." Her original composition, "Silencio," is a strutting Latin-jazz tinged ode to the unspoken connection between lovers. Says Jamila: 'I love music and I love to sing. Music is my genuine path in life. It is the best way for me to give of myself to this world. I sacrifice for it in a way that I do for nothing else. I feel most whole and most connected when I'm on stage singing.' Jamila released her debut EP, the breezy Traces of the Day in January of 2001, the funky, 70's R&B inspired Fabulous EP in 2003 and her first full-length album, the soulful and revealing Enough, in October 2010 (nominee for Independent Music Awards best Soul/R&B album, 2010). Ford's latest EP, The Deep End, is slated for a September 2014 release. "Jamila Ford is a jazz singer possessed of both subtlety and skill." - Bluesbunny (dot) com "Jamila Ford is an artist worthy of your attention." - Michael Verity, Jazz.About (dot) com "... sultry, friendly, inviting and ultimately very real" - Babysue (dot) com '... soulful execution and introspective lyrics... exceedingly insightful... listeners will definitely want more of what Ford's expression is giving.' - Christina Calloway, ThisIsRealMusic (dot) com.

1) All Blues
2) Gentle Rain
3) Silencio
4) Sugar
5) Wild Is the Wind