A Conversation with world renowned vocalist Elin Kathleen Melgarejo

With this conversation, we are joined by world renowned vocalist Elin Kathleen Melgarejo. At an early age, she became enamored with Brazilian music, embarking on a life-long journey to perform Brazilian jazz. Born and raised in Sweden, and the oldest of six children, she grew up in three different cultures and continents: Europe, North and South America. Fluent in five languages, she has lived in New York City, having been an instrumentalist and student of music since the age of seven. She spotlights her performance of the music of the great Brazilian Entertainers, such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gal Costa, João Gilberto, Elis Regina and Leny Andrade. 

A key milestone in her career was meeting and working with the voice teacher Miriam Jaskierowicz Arman, author of, The Voice: A Spiritual Approach to Singing, Speaking and Com- municating. Elin shares more about the influence she had on your singing career. 

To the Great American Songbook, she lists list Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan as among those singers that have influenced her.  

She performs in New York and Washington DC, sharing the venues she prefers and has performed at. She talks about her ongoing close connection to Brazil. 
She moves on to talk about which is the most challenging - learning, memorizing, or performing songs?

Elin highlights her debut album, Lazy Afternoon, a mix of Brazilian, American classic and original songs, released on September 5th, 2006, also collaborations with Thievery Corporation, with whom she has recorded six songs across three albums since 2014. 

In closing, she provides recommendations and advice tp aspiring singers, also albums and projects now in progress.