Artist Biography

Many nine-year-old girls have musical idols. However, very few also have perfect pitch, possess a burning desire to follow in that idol’s footsteps, or, if asked, would immediately identify that idol as Ella Fitzgerald.

New Jersey native Chelsea Palermo is only 21 years old, but she is already a seasoned performer and interpreter. While she listened to Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey as enthusiastically as her friends, Chelsea never saw anything unusual about adoring Ella Fitzgerald at such a young age.

“When I was a kid, I was drawn to the energy of pop music and R&B—and I always will be,” Chelsea said recently, “However, I also appreciated the sophistication and nuance of jazz—and I always wished I could share that with my friends.”

Today, as Chelsea gears up to release her debut studio recording, she is hoping to do just that: to use her fresh, energetic take on the standards to help bring jazz to a whole new generation.

Her renditions of some of the greatest works in the American songbook are entirely unique—noted as much for the maturity of their execution as for the youth and vibrancy they display. Not many artists who tackle “My Funny Valentine” have a genuine appreciation for Gwen Stefani.

Palermo already shows signs of making her leap successfully. One of her vocal coaches, Gwen Moten, also trains artists such as Janet Jackson and Diane Reeves. This training resulted in Chelsea’s album being recorded at Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey. Now, after years of studying Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong, it should come as no surprise that scatting comes naturally to Chelsea—or that her repertoire has swelled to nearly 200 songs, most of them jazz standards.

People are beginning to take notice. This past February, she opened for both Gato Barberi (at Englewood’s bergenPAC) and Bob Baldwin (at the Two River Theater in Red Bank). Earlier this past winter, on January 29, Chelsea performed for a national radio audience on the Joey Reynolds Show, broadcast on WOR in New York.

Additionally, she has taken the stage at the PNC Arts Center, the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, and Bruce Springsteen’s music venue, the Stone Pony. For the past two years, Chelsea has sung at Drumthwacket, the New Jersey Governor’s Mansion at the annual, statewide D.A.R.E. fundraiser. She also lent her voice to last year’s Power of Pink cancer fundraiser, which featured Lynn Redgrave as the evening’s emcee.

Her forthcoming release is being put out by A major Record Company and features tracks such as “If I Give You My Love,” “La Vie En Rose,” and “Fine and Mellow.” The album features special guests Warren Vaché on trumpet and Latin percussionist Luisito Quintero.