Born and raised in France, Cyrille Aimée is a jazz singer who now lives in New Orleans. She won the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition in 2007, was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2010 and won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition in 2012. She has recorded 13 albums, including Move On, an album of songs by the late Stephen Sondheim recorded in 2019, and her newest, Petite Fleur (Storyville), recorded with Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.
On the album, Cyrille sings many of the 10 songs in French but also expertly takes on R&B (I Don't Hurt Anymore) as well as blues (Get the Bucket) and pop (On a Clear Day). What I love about Cyrille's voice is that you can hear the joy and emotion she feels as she sings the music she loves. But it's more than that. She brings a special cool to her intensive interpretations, a gentle smolder that chills and heats at the same time.
Before we get to my Q&A with Cyrille, here she is last year in action with alto saxophonist David Sanborn, Andy Ezrin on piano, Billy Kilson on drums, Ben Williams on bass and Sergio Krakowski on percussion...
Recently I caught up with Cyrille by email...
JazzWax: Where did you grow up?
Cyrille Aimée: Mostly in France, in a little village on the outskirts of Paris called Samois sur Seine. It’s the village where gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt used to live. My parents are not musicians, but they always loved to throw parties and dance. My mother is from the Dominican Republic, and she used to put on a lot of salsa, merengue and bachata in the living room for my sister and me to dance to.
JW: Who were your favorite singers?
CA: There are too many to say, from Celia Cruz to Charles Aznavour to Snoop Dogg to Michael Jackson. We would try to copy Michael's dance moves in front of the TV.
JW: Who was more influential, jazz singers on records or the gypsy singers camped near your home?
CA: I discovered I wanted to make improvised music when I started getting to know the gypsies in my village. The town hosted an annual gathering. I fell in love with their way of life and of always honoring the present moment. I soon realized that's how they made music. When I started to sing and was looking for a more diverse repertoire to sing with the gypsies, I discovered Ella Fitzgerald.
JW: Did your parents encourage your singing?
CA: At first, they didn’t trust me hanging out with the gypsies all the time. So they grounded me, which forced me to climb out my bedroom window to meet them at the campfire. I was about 14. Then when my parents realized nothing was going to stop me, they became interested in the music and fell in love with the gypsy community just like I did.
JW: What did the American School of Modern Music in Paris teach you?
CA: I loved that school because I got to meet really cool people. I also started building a sizable repertoire of standards. When I arrived in America, I knew a lot of songs, which made it easier to jam with anybody. Paris is a beautiful city, but it was a little difficult for a forest girl like me to adapt.
JW: Do you regret not singing what French TV’s Star Academy asked you to sing on the show?
CA: I try to not regret anything in life, and my decision with Star Academy is definitely something I never regretted. Turning down possible fame was definitely not an easy decision for an 18- year-old girl. As you know, I was one of 16 finalists. When I realized that my contract said I had to take on the songs they told me to sing, I decided to leave. I wanted to sing jazz. My love and passion for the music I wanted to sing was too strong.
JW: What do you feel inside when you sing jazz?
CA: I love improvising, in life and in music. I feel I am exactly where I need to be.
JW: Who suggested you team with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra for your new album?
CA: I was at Nicholas Payton's house one day to rehearse for a duo gig we had when I told him I would love to sing with the NOJO. He immediately sent a text to Adonis Rose, who called me and proposed we record an album together.
JW: Hard to earn a living last year and early this year during the pandemic?
CA: It was. S o I improvised. I took on the beautiful project of designing and building an off-the-grid, self-sustainable house in the jungle of Costa Rica.
JW: Do you miss France and, if so, what specifically?
CA: I don't miss it because I go back a lot. I would have to say what I miss most is the bread and the cheese.
