“Sara is now a real force of nature within Uk jazz with surely a great future ahead of her”
Jazz Views
Best Vocalist – British Jazz Awards 2019
British vocalist Sara Dowling is regarded as one of the most talented jazz singers in Europe. With Palestinian and Irish heritage, she first trained as a cellist at Chetham’s and the RNCM, before emerging as a powerful and expressive jazz vocalist and composer. Her most important influences are Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan.
She has shared the stage with Ronnie Scott’s All Stars Band, Ian Shaw, Jason Rebello, Bruce Barth, Terell Stafford and toured in Italy with pianist Andrea Pozza. Sara has performed in some of the UK’s most prestigious jazz venues and festivals (Ronnie Scott’s, Buxton International Festival, Swanage Jazz Festival, Isle of Wight Festival) as well as headlining festivals in Italy (Jazz In Borgo – Ferrazzano, Winter Teata – Pescara, Notte Bianca – Comacchio), Spain (San Javier 2022), France (Jazz En Touraine 2020), Bahrain and Hungary (Budapest Jazz Club).
Her sound is a vibrant fusion of nostalgic classical harmonies and intense American post-bop rhythms of the late 1960s, where interplay and improvisation are at the heart of the performance.
The fabulous fearlessness with which she approaches the act of singing, the burning conviction, the irresistible communicative power and jaw-dropping musicality she brings to it makes Sara one of the UK’s leading Jazz vocalists.