It seems the most natural thing in the world, when Fay Claassen brings English and Dutch pop songs, original compositions or standards of the "Great American Songbook" with her touching voice to new life.
When phenomenal improvisation and perfect intonation seem to be a child's play, combined with enormous emotional depth and more than twenty years of musical experience.
Born in Nijmegen, a city in the east of the Netherlands, Fay Claassen began with a ballet and theater training at early age, then switched to the musical subject and presented an impressive career.
With her unmistakable timbre, she is one of the great female voices of European jazz.
Awards:
Fay Claassen’s ninth solo album was awarded with the Dutch Grammy, the "Edison Award" in 2018. Moreover she received for this album the “Edison 2018 Audience Award’’. She has previously received the prestigious German "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik", a „Golden Record Award" and the "Chet Baker Award". These are just a few examples of the many prizes that Fay Claassen has received so far in her impressive career.
Collaborations:
The list of jazz legends with whom Fay Claassen has collaborated since the 1990s reads like the 'Who's Who' of jazz: the legendary Toots Thielemans, the Grammy winning WDR Big Band, the American Fusion Jazz Star Mike Stern, Cuban Latin Jazz Star Paquito D'Rivera, the Metropole Orkest and the most important arrangers of the orchestral Jazz: Bob Brookmeyer, Vince Mendoza and Michael Abene.