Claire Martin OBE

Claire Martin OBE has to worldwide critical acclaim established herself as a tour de force on the UK jazz scene, gaining many awards including winning the British Jazz Awards eight times during her career which spans over three decades. In 2018, she was the proud recipient of the BASCA Gold Badge Award for her contribution to jazz.

Claire became a professional singer at 19 and two years later realised her dream of singing at Ronnie Scott’s legendary jazz club in London Soho. Signed to the prestigious Glasgow based Linn Records in 1990, Claire has since released 22 CDs with Linn Records and Danish label Stunt Records, collaborating with musical luminaries including Martin Taylor, John Martyn, Stephane Grappelli, Kenny Barron, Richard Rodney Bennett and Jim Mullen on many of these recordings.

Claire appears as a featured soloist with the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTE Concert Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the BBC Big Band and the BBC Concert Orchestra. 

Her 2009 CD A Modern Art prompted Jazz Times USA to claim: “She ranks among the four or five finest female jazz vocalists on the planet”.

At The Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2011, Claire was delighted to be awarded an OBE for her services to jazz.

(Photo: Kenny McCracken)