Bio
Grenadian Jazz vocalist Dawn Mitchell blends Caribbean roots with European and New York Jazz influences. She began her musical journey with gospel and calypso before moving to London where Motown, R&B and Reggae shaped her early performance years.
After relocating to Milan, she signed with RCA subsidiary label Spaghetti, as part of a Pop group, Les Streghe. Upon breakup, she became a sought-after session singer, doing both solo and back vocals with top Italian artistes such as Mina, Zucchero and Pino Daniele.
In 1983 she moved to New York and studied with pianist Barry Harris whose mentorship awakened and deepened her jazz foundation prompting a desire to redefine her own distinctive vocal style and sound.
Slowly Mitchell became a regular performer in the small venues of Northern Italy. But it was her continued artistic partnership with pianist-composer Luigi Bonafede which definitively influenced her musical evolution. She featured on his album “With you Along the Way” and performed in his octet/quintet.
On moving to the Caribbean in 1992 She performed in the Antiguan Jazz Festival and in St Lucia alongside the Vibraphonist Jay Hoggard, horn player Luther Francois and pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs.
After a long absence from the industry, apart from periodic performances with Bonafede, she returned in 2019 again collaborating and performing with Bonafede at the Dolomite Ski Jazz Festival. This resulted with the recording and release of the album LOKAS which was released in 2021 on the Caligora label.
Dawn has since divided her time between the Caribbean, London and Miami,creating new compositions and leading music workshops.