"Rachel was a major hit at the Wigan Jazz Club... each song was beautifully delivered with an originality that is rare in jazz today. A top quality performance by a very special vocalist."
Ian Darrington, Wigan Jazz Club, May 2007
Rachel Brand graduated from the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama postgraduate jazz course in 2006. She came to jazz late having first had a career in business, most recently as a senior management consultant with a global Business Consultancy. Her business career was curtailed by her second brain tumour and she decided to take a chance on a jazz summer school.
That was the Fionna Duncan Vocal Jazz Workshop in Edinburgh, August 2002. She has since studied with a raft of illustrious jazz singers, including Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy, Jay Clayton, Sophie Bancroft, Ian Shaw, Liane Carroll, Pete Churchill, Anita Wardell, Tina May and most recently Lee Gibson at the Guildhall. She has also worked with outstanding instrumentalists including Mark Lockheart, Simon Purcell, Martin Speake, Brian Kellock, Darius Brubeck, Malcolm Edmonstone, Duncan Hopkins and Mike Walker.
Rachel has an extensive, expressive repertoire, ranging from Kenny Wheeler and Bill Evans to Danny Kaye and The Aristocats. "She swings like a bitch" said Fionna Duncan – a true compliment. She has a witty and captivating delivery; creating a true emotional connection with her audience is her hallmark.
Rachel has already established a loyal following with performances at The 606 Club, Ronnie Scott's, Pizza on the Park and The Bull's Head in London, as well as venues and jazz festivals in Manchester, Glasgow and Devon. Her new album, to be produced by Ian Shaw, is eagerly anticipated and will be recorded in 2007. She recently moved to North Devon and is already building a local following between sand, sea and pasties.
"A real, true jazz singer" Anita Wardell.
