Sarah Elizabeth Charles

Sarah Elizabeth Charles is a vocalist/composer based in New York City. She has worked and studied with artists such as Christian Scott, Geri Allen, George Cables, Nicholas Payton and Sheila Jordan and has released three critically acclaimed albums with her band, SCOPE between 2012 and today. As the active vocalist in a number of bands (including SCOPE, Ajoyo, duo with Jarrett Cherner, collaborations with Jesse Fischer and Transient Beings) Charles has performed at many venues throughout her career. These have included The White House, Carnegie Hall, the first annual Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi, The Kennedy Center, the Rose Theatre with Jazz at Lincoln Center and many more. She has also had a commissioned composition performed at The National Gallery in Washington D.C. via The Canales Project "Hear Her Song" initiative.

In addition to her performances, Charles is an active educator as well. She works as a teaching artist with Carnegie Hall’s Sing Sing Correctional Facility and Future Music Project youth workshops, has a private lessons studio in New York City, is an adjunct professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music teaching a course she designed called "Jazz and Gender" and has developed an early childhood music education program with Rise2Shine, a non-profit organization based in Fond Parisien, Haiti. In 2019, she was one of five recipients of the Yale School of Music's Distinguished Teaching Artist Award. In 2020, she was selected to be one of five members of the Joe's Pub Working Group, as a recipient of the New York City Women's Fund grant in support of her band's fourth album to be released in 2021 and as a recipient of Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works grant.

Charles' musical output has been described as a “genre of one” (DownBeat Magazine), “soulfully articulate” (NY Times) and “an unmatched sound” (Jay Z’s Life+Times). Her critically acclaimed sophomore project, “Inner Dialogue”, released in 2015 on Truth Revolution Records, features her band along with co-producer/special guest Christian Scott. Her third album, "Free of Form" is available everywhere on Ropeadope/Stretch Music and features SCOPE as well as Scott as co-producer/special guest. Charles and SCOPE are currently working on their fourth album, "Blank Canvas", to be released in 2022. One can only look to the future for more unique and boundary pushing music from this one of a kind artist.

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