Junction Tales

Emma Smith is one of the most significant UK jazz vocalists to emerge in recent years — a singer whose profile has expanded rapidly both in the UK and internationally.

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Winner of the Parliamentary Jazz Vocalist of the Year, she has also established herself on the global stage through her involvement in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition — reaching the final stages from a field of over 280 singers representing 37 countries, and later placing as first runner-up. The competition, widely regarded as one of the most prestigious platforms for jazz vocalists worldwide, has been a launch point for major international careers.

 

Her career to date spans performances at Ronnie Scott’s and the Royal Albert Hall, alongside international touring across Europe and the United States. She has worked with a wide range of artists including Michael Bublé, the Quincy Jones Orchestra and Postmodern Jukebox, while also maintaining a strong presence within the UK jazz scene through her own projects and collaborations. Her recorded work — including releases such as Bitter Orange — reflects an artist developing a clear and increasingly distinctive voice, balancing respect for tradition with a contemporary vibe.

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Born into a family of working jazz musicians, Emma’s relationship to the music is grounded in lived experience rather than formal training alone. That background sits at the centre of her approach: a voice capable of both power and subtlety, combined with an assured sense of phrasing, timing and communication. Drawing on a lineage that runs from classic jazz vocalists through to more modern influences, her performances combine clarity of interpretation with a strong sense of personality.

 

Doing It My Way focuses on repertoire that has shaped her — jazz standards, swing-era material, soul and more contemporary influences — but framed through her own perspective rather than as homage.

 

Performed with her full octet, the music opens out into a broader palette: arranged horn writing, rhythmic depth and space for improvisation alongside tightly structured ensemble passages. It is a format that allows both scale and detail, with the voice at the centre of a responsive and finely balanced group sound.

 

Line-up
Emma Smith – vocals
Rob Barron – piano
Tom Farmer – double bass
Luke Tomlinson – drums
Alex Garnett – tenor saxophone
Graeme Blevins – alto saxophone
Tom Walsh – trumpet
Daniel Higham – trombone

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Emma's octet brings together a group of musicians active across the UK jazz scene as bandleaders, arrangers and collaborators. Collectively, they bring a depth of experience across a wide range of settings — from small-group performance to large ensembles and studio work.

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Support Act

Opening the evening, we are proud to present The Parmiter’s School Big Band.

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Parmiter’s is one of the region’s highest-performing and most sought-after state schools, with a long-standing commitment to music and a highly competitive music aptitude intake.

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That culture shows in the standard of its ensembles: disciplined, ambitious and properly grounded in the big band tradition. This is a serious young band bringing energy, precision and great musicality to the stage.

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Thank yous

We are indebted to The Watford Palace Theatre for presenting this show tonight, in association with the Watford Jazz Junction.

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We would also like to thank accountants Hillier Hopkins for their support of our work, and One Jazz Radio, Jazz FM, Vibe FM and Cerys Matthews on BBC 6Music for their promotion of tonight's show.

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Looking forwards

We continue to seek substantial funding for our next festival, proposed for May 2027, when we hope to return with a fuller musical line-up across a week.

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Concluding this year's Jazz Weekend there are tickets and walk-ins available (£5-£15 with children attending for free) at Our Conversations In Jazz event tomorrow 10 May from 2-6pm at St John's Church (just around the corner!).

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Artists include Shri Sriram, Ilario Ferrari & Mari Songs, David Gordon & Christian Garrick, and Orphy Robinsons' Watford Jazz Junction Jazz Train Choir. Tickets and info here.

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