🎤 What Listeners Say
“Listening to Carmen sing is like being transported to another world. She gently draws you into her joy of life and vibrant energy.”
“Her voice is like velvet and silk, evoking the golden era of smoky jazz clubs.”
“Her vocal expression is beautiful – it gets under your skin and touches the heart.”
“I love your honest, unfiltered energy and your ability to improvise. Your voice is a gift.”
“The soulful timbre and deep alto range of her voice seem made for jazz.”
“Her voice is breathtaking and utterly enchanting.”
🌟 What I Say About My Voice
I’m an original – my voice sounds like no one else but me. It’s soulful, expressive, powerful, smoky, and warm, yet also clear, friendly, and approachable. It has a distinctive character and high recognition value.
My vocal range is primarily alto, extending from deep alto and tenor notes up into the mezzosoprano register.
My repertoire is broad and personally curated. I’m especially drawn to almost-forgotten early jazz gems from the 1930s and 40s. Musical theater and more contemporary works also inspire me. Yet inspiration is just the beginning – what defines my performances is my authentic artistic personality. Expressing that truthfully is always my goal.
Every song I sing means something to me. I love performing jazz ballads, swinging standards, bossa nova, Latin jazz, and also jazz and chansons in my native German. Singing in my own language allows me to convey the meaning and emotion of the lyrics on a deeper level – which is essential to me.
As part of my training as a voiceover artist in Berlin (completed in 2019), I learned how to bring out the nuance and narrative of spoken and sung text. This connection to the story behind each song plays a central role in my interpretation.
🎶 My Inspirations
My jazz influences include:
Ruth Etting, Annette Hanshaw, Judy Garland, Jo Stafford, Dorothy Lamour, Helen Forrest, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day, Peggy Lee, Stacey Kent, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, Betty Carter, Lena Horne, and Keely Smith.
My interpretations of German-language songs are inspired by singers such as:
Lilian Harvey, Zarah Leander, Greta Keller, Rosita Serrano, Anna Sten, Brigitte Horney, Lizzi Waldmüller, Marlene Dietrich, and other legendary German voices.
👗 Costumes & Visual Style
Because of my passion for costume design, I create my own stage outfits. They reflect the eras of the music I perform – adding visual storytelling to the musical experience.
🎶 My Personal Journey into Music
My very first interview came at the age of three. The question was:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
My answer: “I am a singer!”
People still ask me today if that childhood dream led me to jazz – and the answer is yes.
Music has always been the great love of my life.
As a child, Sundays at my grandfather’s were filled with beautiful music – classical pieces, musicals, and jazz played on the radio and vinyl. We also watched old German revue films together. I was mesmerized: the costumes, the glamour, the singing actresses – I wanted to live that world.
I started singing at a young age and joined a children’s choir early on, where I had my first public performances. I stayed in choirs for many years, singing with great passion and eventually leading ensembles myself. As a teenager, I learned to play guitar and sang folk songs while accompanying myself.
Following my parents’ wishes, I trained in scenic painting at the opera house – surrounded by music, stage design, and costumes. My love for musical theatre deepened during that time. I also took up tap dancing and began to feel jazz rhythms in my body. Still, my dream of being on stage never faded.
I later acted in an independent theatre group and played the lead role of Mira Hindley in Preparadise Sorry Now by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Life brought new chapters – I became a mother and took a break. Later, I moved to the Ulm area and studied art therapy, where I learned how deeply healing art and music can be.
After this period of growth, I returned to my musical path and invested in professional voice training at the Ulm Drama School under the guidance of an opera singer. I also studied dance (Laban technique and contact improvisation), which expanded my expressive range.
I began performing more regularly and joined local jam sessions, where I could explore and experiment. In 2007, I launched my first jazz duo with a pianist. In 2009, a performance in Isny with voice and piano was a turning point – I made a promise to myself:
I will sing for the rest of my life.
In 2011, I moved to Berlin, reopening my holistic art school for children and continuing my work as a freelance visual artist. But in Berlin, jazz truly found me again – and this time, it felt like coming home.
I studied jazz singing mostly self-taught, listened deeply to jazz across eras, and followed online vocal training to strengthen my technique. I practiced daily, worked on expanding my vocal range, and built up a personal repertoire. Berlin’s rich jazz scene gave me countless opportunities to grow. I call this time:
“The stage was my school.”
In 2014, I closed my painting school and fully committed to my music career. I began organizing my own concerts. In 2019, I completed professional microphone and voiceover training at the Coaching Company Berlin to refine my mic technique and stage presence.
Since then, I’ve been performing vocal jazz concerts across Berlin, Bavaria, and all over Germany – together with wonderful musicians in duos, trios, and ensembles.
💛 With heartfelt thanks to all who have supported and accompanied me on this journey.