Germaine Bazzle

Germaine Bazzle, a jazz singer born in New Orleans on March 28, 1932, grew up in the city’s Seventh Ward. Music ran in her family, and she taught herself piano by ear as a child. At age twelve, she began formal training at the Xavier Junior School of Music. After earning her degree from Xavier University of Louisiana, Bazzle taught choir and music appreciation at Xavier Prep, a job she held until retiring in 2008.

Alongside her teaching career, she performed as a musician, spending more than two decades singing in New Orleans nightclubs. She has worked with artists such as Red Tyler, Peter “Chuck” Badie, Victor Goines, George French, Ellis Marsalis, Emile Vinnette, Larry Siebert, and David Torkanowsky, often as part of her group Germaine Bazzle & Friends. She also sang regularly with the Saint Louis Catholic Choir and The New World Ensemble, and she serves as a faculty member and supporter of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp.

From 1985 to 1997, Bazzle took part in ten recording sessions as a vocalist and backing vocalist. Her honors include OffBeat’s Lifetime Achievement in Music Education award in 2015, as well as two Best of the Beat awards—Best Contemporary Jazz Vocalist in 1996 and Best Female Vocalist in 1997. She also won the Big Easy Music Award for Best Female Performer in 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994.