b. The Netherlands. Fleurine was attracted to singers from an early age and she developed an interest in singing through different avenues. These included Ella Fitzgerald and her Song Book recordings. After graduating from the Amsterdam School of High Arts Conservatory, she moved to New York, USA. She has lived and worked in America and her homeland since the early 1990s. She began to write lyrics for jazz instrumentals after she had already chosen to sing jazz. Ray Bryant and Curtis Fuller are among the composers she now includes in her repertoire. Some of Fleurine’s lyrics are written in English and others in Portuguese. Her appearances at top New York and London clubs include Birdland Blue Note, Pizza Express and Pizza Express. She also sang at many international festivals, including Havana, Cuba (where Roy Hargrove was guest vocalist in 1996), Montreal, Edmonton, Canada and Umbria in Italy. She has also performed at numerous North Sea Jazz Festivals in her home country, including a 1997 appearance with Brad Mehldau. She teamed up with the pianist to perform a New York concert at the Village Vanguard. They also performed on international tours and set a record. She has also performed live and recorded with Don Sickler and Harrell, as well as saxophonists Seamus Moore and Ralph Moore, trumpeter Harrell, pianist Renee Rosnes and guitarist Jesse van Ruller. Also, Christian McBride, Johan Plomp, and Jeff Ballard, are among other jazzmen she has performed with. Fleurine’s long-standing accompanists are van Ruller and Plomp. Fleurine is also involved in the recording and production aspects of music. Fleurine’s repertoire grew to include pop music from the 1960s and jazz-inflected arrangements for classic French songs as well as contemporary Brazilian pop. Allmusic
