Silvia Droste - Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love (2000)

As a 14 year-old girl, completely self-taught, Silvia started her musical career both as a singer and saxophone player in a school jazzband, making her first recordings at the age of 17. In her teens she was introduced to traditional jazz, she learnt quickly and was soon performing with such greats as Acker Bilk, Papa Bue, Chris Barber and the Dutch Swing College Band.
She studied English and Romanic languages and their respective literatures (1978 -’84) , which has helped her considerably to comprehend and present lyrics.
It’s not only the fact that Silvia knows how to interpret a song, but she also swings!
Her imaginative improvisations, characterized by an instrumental approach, demonstrate her extensive knowledge of jazz. At the very beginning of her career, she learned the significance of ‘tradition’ - although her adventurous nature has always led her to explore new musical horizons.
Gifted with a rich and nimble voice of remarkable range and timbre, she also possesses a perfect sense of phrasing – plus a charismatic stage presence. This combined with the fact that she knows totally what she is doing, makes her, according to the press, “Germany’s First Lady of Jazz”… “A Real Live Treat”.
When this lady sings, one is treated to a jazz highlight that satisfies both mind and soul.
In the 1980s, Silvia founded her successful quartet Voicings and began to develop a taste for mainstream, bebop and big band jazz. As a soloist she worked with the majority of German radio big bands, the (Dutch) Skymasters and Metropole Orchestra, Charly Antolini, Ack and Jerry van Rooyen, Jiggs Whigham, Peter Herbolzheimer, Scott Hamilton, Art Farmer, Daniel Humair, Jean-François Jenny-Clarke, Dado Moroni, Alvin Queen and many others. She performed at German and international jazz festivals, such as Stockholm (S), Prague (CS), Warsaw, Krakow (P); Paris, Cannes, Marciac (F); and the North Sea Jazz Festival (NL).
At the same time, she made tours in the Benelux countries, Slovenia, East Africa, the Soviet Union, India, Australia, South America and Sri Lanka, either as a member of the “Youth Jazz Orchestra NRW”, as a guest soloist or with projects of her own. Meanwhile she recorded for televison and radio productions all over Europe. Silvia was granted various awards, among which the German Record Critics’ Award for her debut CD “Audiophile Voicings” in 1987. And in 1988 she was the first jazz artist ever to receive the ‘Prize To Encourage Young Artists’ of the State of Nordrhein Westfalen.