Chris McNulty has been moving audiences since her emergence on the international jazz scene in 1985. With a touch of Sarah, a hint of Ella, and a whole lot of vibe, McNulty is blessed with an exquisite instrument. She combines a rich, expressive voice with a deep sense of swing, a natural feel for the blues and an impressive ability to improvise that comes straight from the heart.
She has been hailed by critics in the US as an immense talent whose vocalizing is fearless and composing peerless (Jazz Times, USA, Jan 2007), and a rare find among jazz singers. In the UK she has been hailed as one of the foremost vocalist-composers on the international jazz scene with a voice of serene beauty, striking veracity and compelling emotional fervency (Jazz Wise, UK, Jan 2007), and in her native Australia, as a superb jazz vocalist (West Australian, May 2005) who melds the sounds of jazz, blues, pop and funk into an intensely musical style with a highly professional delivery.
On recordings and in live performance, she spontaneously reconstructs melodies while retaining the essence of the original lyrics. Her repertoire ranges from classic Gershwin and Porter standards to Miles Davis classics and Burt Bacharach chestnuts with an ever increasing focus on her original compositions and lyrics.
Increasingly acknowledged by musicians, peers and critics alike as a jazz vocalist-composer with a unique vision, boundless creative energy and a distinctive style of her own. McNulty's risk-taking, fluid and powerful emotional approach, support, but never compromise her musical sensibilities. As both vocalist and composer, McNulty breaks new ground by simultaneously reinforcing and re-defining the boundaries for jazz vocals. In short, she is a consummate musician with great pitch and control "capable of injecting emotion, pathos, irony & meaning into her work, a gift that few singers can lay claim to.” (George Carroll, The Musicians Ombudsman, Aug 2006). Her compositions have been hailed as rich harmonically, melodically and lyrically and well worthy of the company they keep along side the great standards she continues to interpret and explore.
McNulty first visited New York City in 1985 and settled there in 1988 after being awarded an International Study Grant from the Australia Council. Since then Chris has garnered further accolades from critics, jazz musicians and fans alike, as well as collaborating and performing with some of the finest musicians on the jazz scene today including: Gary Bartz, Paul Bollenback, Gary Thomas, Mulgrew Miller, Ugonna Okegwo, John Hicks, Frank Wess, Ingrid Jensen, Terri-Lyne Carrington, Tim Garland, Tom Lellis, Billy Hart, Ed Howard, Jeff Ballard, Dave Pietro, Joe Locke, Peter Leitch, Tineke Postma, James Genus, Matt Wilson, Jeff “Tain” Watts, David “Fathead” Newman, George Mraz, Kenny Washington, Steve Wilson, Joel Frahm, Gary Versace, Dean Johnson, Ted Rosenthal, David Budway, Harvey S and Tony Reedus.