After placing third in the 2017 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, Christine Fawson returns this year with renewed energy and focus.
Not only does she sing, she also plays trumpet and flugelhorn; for 14 years, she was a member of the brass faculty at Berklee College of Music. When she sings, she mimics the sound of her horn. So much so that she can often be seen mocking the fingering of key changes on an imaginary trumpet as she vocalizes.
Fawson has worked and toured with everyone from Adele to the Disney Corporation. A former member of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, she has released four albums, the most recent being Christine Fawson Sings Jazz, from 2018.
When asked to name her favorite tune associated with Sarah Vaughan, she chose “If I Were a Bell.” Here is her version of the Dizzy Gillespie standard “A Night in Tunisia.”
The Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition takes place on Sunday at 3 p.m. at NJPAC, as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival. Christine says she is excited to take part in the competition for a second time and looks forward to gleaning from the musicians as well as her fellow finalists.
