Biography

Germany's Lyambiko is a highly regarded vocalist known for her sophisticated, stylistically nuanced approach to post-bop jazz. She emerged to acclaim in the early 2000s, winning three consecutive German Jazz Awards, including for 2005's Lyambiko and 2007's Inner Sense. Along with performing her own compositions, she has continued to re-examine the jazz standards, as on 2012's Sings Gershwin and 2017's Love Letters. Born Sandy Mueller in 1978 in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany, Lyambiko (her Tanzanian father's surname) was raised in a musical family; her father and grandfather were both musicians. Growing up, she studied clarinet and saxophone, along with taking classical vocal lessons and playing in school bands. At age 17 she formed her first group, playing a mix of folk, pop, and blues. However, it wasn't until after moving to Berlin in 1999 that she seriously pursued a jazz vocal career. Adopting her mononymous stage name, Lyambiko began performing locally, singing jazz standards with a guitarist in a duo setting. Eventually, she caught the ear of renowned jazz vocalist Mark Murphy, who helped secure her a high-profile show at Berlin's premier club A-Train in 2000. Her career took off, and in 2002 she released her debut album, Out of This Mood, on Nagel Heyer Records, followed a year later by Shades of Delight. She then signed with Sony and delivered 2005's eponymous Lyambiko, which earned her a German Jazz Gold Award. Two more well-received albums followed with 2006's Love... And Then and 2007's Inner Sense, both of which also took home German Jazz Awards. Lyambiko paid tribute to longtime idol Nina Simone with Saffronia in 2008. The album garnered significant attention in France, and raised the singer's profile even higher. She returned two years later with Something Like Reality. In 2012, she released another tribute album with Sings Gershwin, followed three years later by Muse. With 2017's Love Letters, Lyambiko offered an album of originals and standards inspired by a box of letters she discovered written in the 1930s by her husband's grandfather. Two years later, she paired with the WDR Funkhausorchester for Berlin-New York. Arranged by Max Knoth, the album found Lyambiko exploring jazz and traditional pop standards written by German composers in the '30s, '40s, and '50s, including songs by Kurt Weill, Werner Richard Heymann, Lothar Brühne, and others. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi