Fay Claassen

The Dutch power woman of jazz, Fay Claassen, is one of the most versatile singers in the Netherlands and belongs to the European top. Fay is known as a musical phenomenon for her elegance and delicate voice. During her career, Fay released 11 studio albums under her own name and toured in Europe and Asia. She has been frequently accompanied and asked by famous guest soloists (Toots Thielemans, Mike Stern, Paquito D'Riviera, David Linx, Emma Rawicz) and arrangers (Vince Mendoza, Ivan Paduart, Michael Abene, Bob Brookmeyer). She is also a regular guest with renowned big bands and orchestras, from the Metropole Orkest, Brussels Jazz Orchestra, WDR Big Band, Jazz Orkest of the Concertgebouw to the Residentie Orkest. In 2022 she performed at the North Sea Jazz for the ninth (!) time, this last time in collaboration with the Peter Beets New Jazz Orchestra. Fay Claassen has received several prestigious awards and (inter)national music prizes. She won a Golden Record, a number-1 rating in the All About Jazz critics poll for Best Jazz Vocal Album and the Chet Baker Award for Two Portraits of Chet Baker. She has won four Edison Jazz Award (the Dutch Grammy), like for the 10-piece album Fay Live, featuring previously unreleased live recordings in celebration of her 25th anniversary. She is the only Dutch jazz musician who has received this Edison Jazz status. “Fay Claassen is to singing what Audrey Hepburn was to the movies: elegant and graceful“ - American jazz magazine CADENCE