Lizz Wright will showcase her inimitable and soul-searing vocals on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025 at the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival. The New York Times touted her voice as, “a smooth, dark alto possessed of qualities you might associate with barrel-aged bourbon or butter-soft leather,” renowned vocalist and songwriter Lizz Wright sings with a soaring reflection of the cultural fabric of America.
SOUTHERN GIRL
Wright is one of the great modern American singers with an illustrious 20-year career transcending social divides with her offer of love and deep sense of humanity. Wright culls inspiration from her southern upbringing in Georgia where she was the musical director of a small church where her father was the pastor. The call and response singing with the church congregation was her first brush with music. She would go on to embrace the Great American Songbook on her path to becoming a beloved international treasure.
Wright’s 2024 studio album release, Shadow, presents Lizz in a gentle and triumphant light. With five originals penned by Wright, the album is anchored by acoustic guitars and layered with string quartets, harp, Carnatic Indian classical strings, gospel vocals, and bare emotion. It celebrates the intimacy of romantic love, loss, community, and healing. Shadow was produced by Chris Bruce and executive produced by Wright on Blues & Greens Records. The album features acclaimed guest artists Angelique Kidjo and Meshell Ndegeocello.
FROM SALT TO HOLDING SPACE
At the age of 22, Wright first made a name for herself nationally as a vocalist with a touring concert tribute to Billie Holiday. At 23, she signed with Verve Records for the release of Salt, which topped Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts. She went on to record for Universal Music Group and released the albums Dreaming Wide Awake (2005), The Orchard (2008), and Fellowship (2010). On the Concord Label, Wright released Freedom & Surrender (2016) – featuring the single “Lean In,” which landed on President Obama’s Summer 2016 playlist – and Grace (2017).
Wright launched her own independent record company, Blues & Greens Records, with the June 2022 release of Holding Space, a brilliant live album (produced by Christian Ulbrich) capturing a Berlin, Germany concert in 2018 recorded at the Columbia Theatre; as well as a companion short film of the same name. After 20 years of major label contracts, Wright now owns her master recordings for the first time in her career.
