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"Musical sophistication. A must-see for lovers of world class jazz.” Los Angeles Times

Born of Trinidadian and English parents, New York-based vocalist, composer, and lyricist Tessa Souter (soo-ter) uniquely infuses jazz with the soul and passion of flamenco, Indian and Middle Eastern music. "One of the most imaginatively programmed vocal sets of recent memory." said the Los Angeles Times, in one of many rave reviews she has received since she started singing professionally in 1999.

The Rochester City Paper said of her debut at the Rochester International Jazz Festival. "It's one thing to hear a superb set from a known giant like Randy Brecker; it's a different, particularly exhilarating feeling to witness a great performance by a relatively unknown singer like Tessa Souter. Judging from the ovations she received Saturday night, the entire audience felt the same way." The New York Sun praised her rendition of Pharoah Sanders’ ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan’, saying it “proves it is possible to be spiritual and sensual at the same time.”

Tessa has headlined and sold out houses from the Blue Note and Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola in New York, to Pizza Express, Dean Street and Ronnie Scott’s in London. Her Russian debut at the 1700-seat Moscow International Performing Arts Center in November 2007, inspired a standing ovation, and she has been enthusiastically received in Russia twice since then.

Taught to sing at the age of three by her mother, Tessa took up the guitar at 12. She was encouraged in her early teens to pursue a singing career, but took a detour - early motherhood, university and journalism. In 1992, she moved to San Francisco, where she wrote for the British press, including Vogue, Elle, The Guardian and The Times, and became one of the original six members of The Writer's Grotto, along with Po Bronson (who cites her life-change in his best seller What Should I Do With My Life), Ethan Canin, Ethan Watters, Josh Kornbluth and David Munro.

After moving to New York in 1996, she started sitting in at jazz jams, before winning a scholarship to study at New York's Manhattan School of Music in 1998. She left to study privately with jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy. Since her professional debut in February 1999 Tessa has performed and/or recorded with some of the world's jazz greats, including Kenny Werner, Billy Drummond, Jay Leonhart, Joel Frahm, Romero Lubambo, Mark Murphy, Joe La Barbera, Marvin Sewell, Larry Koonse, Bobby Sanabria and jazz tuba legend Howard Johnson.

Her first CD, ‘Listen Love’, won critical raves for her “crystal clear voice and diamond cut phrasing…” (Philadelphia Inquirer), “direct, soulful sound…” (Village Voice), and “ability to see the shape of a tune so the words seem to come from her soul…” (AllAboutJazz-New York). Her sophomore CD, ‘Nights of Key Largo’, recorded on the Japanese audiophile label, Venus, with Kenny Werner, Billy Drummond, Jay Leonhart, Joel Frahm, and Romero Lubambo, won the coveted Gold Disc review in January 2009’s Swing Journal, which said of her, “… there are traces of Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae in her phrasing, and Julie London and Peggie Lee in her delicate breathing, which harbors a touch of sorrow.”

Her third CD, recorded with guitarist Jason Ennis, bassist Gary Wang, drummer Conor Meehan, violinist Todd Reynolds and accordion player Victor Prieto, will be released on the Motema label this summer.

To quote Time Out New York, "Tessa Souter brings new life to time-honored standards as well as mining a creative spark from the unlikeliest quarters. Better still, she serves it up with a wit and a wink worthy of the toniest joints in town."

"Magnificent! I couldn't stop playing it over and over. She blew me away!" Jon Lucien

"She is a complete musician … extraordinary and moving." Mark Murphy

"She’s at the top of my list of great talent. I love her voice. She really moves me." Sheila Jordan

"Tessa is an important musician... whose brilliant lyrics and songs make her stand out from the pack so very much, not to mention how well she sings other people's material." Howard Johnson

"Tessa Souter has all the qualities I value most in a musician: great time, beautiful phrasing, gorgeous sound, a respect for silence, an emotional connection to the moment, and a wonderful ability to tell a story. She is the 'real thing' in every way." Larry Koonse

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