Shirley Crabbe, Jazz Vocalist

"Crabbe's Ella Fitzgerald-like vibe glows"...
​Downbeat Magazine (2011 release HOME)
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​"...an exceptionally gifted artist who must surely appeal to all who love good jazz singing..."
Bruce Crowther - Jazz Journal (UK)

"Shirley Crabbe is a musical bridge that each listener will find sturdy, beautiful, cement strong and comfortable to walk across. Her voice is a charming way to bring us all together" - Dee Dee McNeil.

"Shirley Crabbe possesses one of the finest voices we've heard in some time." - The Jazz Page.

Native New Yorker and 2019 New York Bistro Award Winner for Outstanding Recording: Bridges, Jazz vocalist Shirley Crabbe sings songs that speak to the heart. As a teenager, Shirley was inspired by a performance of Ella Fitzgerald singing "A Tisket, A Tasket" in an old Abbot and Costello movie. "I've always had a passion for singing, but when I heard Ella sing, I knew that "jazz singing" was what I wanted to do." Following her passion, Shirley pursued her dreams first to Illinois to study opera at Northwestern University and then back home to New York to study at the distinguished Manhattan School of Music. During the day, she studied classical music uptown at MSM, but in the evening, she traveled downtown to sing jazz in the clubs.

Shirley has performed at festivals, jazz clubs, and concert series in the US and abroad. She has appeared at some of Harlem's best Jazz rooms, such as Minton's and the legendary Lenox Lounge, where she performed music from her inaugural CD Home to a sold-out audience. She has also appeared at the Berks Jazz Fest, Zinc Bar, Metropolitan Room, and Birdland.
Once an opening act for the jazz icon Abby Lincoln, Shirley has recorded with the soulful jazz saxophonist Houston Person and performed with the celebrated musicians Harold Mabern, Donald Vega, David Budway, Ron Blake, David Glasser, Brandon Lee, Matt Haviland, Cameron Brown, Jon Burr, Jim West, and others. She was among the top 5 finalists at Jazzmobile's "Best of the Best" Jazz Vocalist Competition in New York City. Shirley is a Stanton Bronze Medalist American Traditions Vocal Competition at the Savannah International Music Festival in Georgia.

In 2011, Shirley released her debut CD, HOME. For the ensuing 26+ weeks, the album remained on the Jazz Week Album Chart, the definitive jazz national radio chart that reports the top Jazz albums played each week on radio stations across the US. Her latest project, BRIDGES, a top 50 album on the Jazz Week album chart, was released in April 2018.