ZAZ

Combining the romantic drama of a classic chanteuse with wandering, gypsy jazz, scat melodies and polished, modern pop harmonies, French singer-songwriter Zaz (born Isabelle Geffroy on May 1, 1980) first emerged with her skipping, shuffling acoustic hit “Je Veux” in 2010 and has since marked herself out as one of her country's most innovative new artists. Born in the Loire Valley in the city of Tours, Isabelle Geffroy studied violin, piano, guitar, and theory at a local conservatoire from the age of 7, winning a scholarship to the CIAM music school in Bordeaux when she was 20. Making her way to Paris, she played with blues band Fifty Fingers, was part of Basque jazz troupe Izar-Adatz, and worked as a backing singer, before “Je Veux” introduced her to the French public as a quirky, rambling soul, and her debut album Zaz shot to the top of the charts. She also won a European Border Breakers Award, before follow-up Recto Verso in 2013 took her on tour across Europe, Canada, and Chile, with her third album Paris in 2014 narrowly losing a high profile battle with Vanessa Paradis for the top spot in the French charts. Her songs were also featured in the movies Hugo and Dead Man Down and she returned in 2018 with Effet Miroir, a typically eclectic album full of Latin pop grooves and dramatic, soul-bearing torch songs. After being absent from the scene for three years, Zaz returned in 2021 with her fifth full-length Isa. Preceded by the single “Imagine,” the album peaked at Number 2 on the French charts.