Violette

Violette is a jazz-influenced French indie singer/songwriter, currently based in the United States. Her full name is Violette de Bartillat. She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. After having studied piano and percussions at a parisian conservatory, Violette started singing at the age of fifteen. Armed with a solid vocal technique gained by the study of the classical repertoire, she soon felt a need for a greater freedom of expression. One year later, she fell under the spell of the Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong duo recordings, which awakened her taste for Jazz. A chance encounter with pianist and artistic director Laurence Apithy would then mark a crucial turning point in Violette’s career, when she first started training as a professional artist. This privileged apprenticeship, spiritual as well as musical, encouraged her to explore the diversity of afro-american music. She soon formed her own band and started developping her own Jazz Soul infused sound while performing throughout french & european venues. In 2007, after graduating in Liberal Arts and encouraged by renowned french violonist Didier Lockwood she decided to fully embrace her passion. She relocated to Boston to enroll the prestigious Berklee College of Music where she studied arranging, songwriting and performance. She soon started writing and performing her own songs, and released her first album Innervoice in 2009. Violette is currently living in the US, working on her 2nd opus while performing internationally. Past appearences include venues in Paris, Senegal, Boston, New York, St Marteen, Prague and Dubaï … She took part in several Jazz Springboards such as Jazz a Vannes and Jazz a Crest and performed for numerous festivals like Jazz a Sete, Violons Croises and Cambridge Make Music. Violette was blessed to co-write and record The Dorian Island with Thomas ENHCO on his amazing debut Album Esquisses. Her resume also includes movie soundtracks & recordings for children. Her compositions were rewarded by international prizes such as Les Vignes d’Or, Song of the Year, ISSA (Indie Singer Songwriter Association). At the early age of 23, Violette sings thus her passion for the Afro-American music and culture. Her warm and inviting voice, tinged with the diverse influences of jazz, blues, soul & gospel, immerses you in the heart of a genuine emotional experience.