Los Angeles provides some of the best jazz and blues on the planet, not to mention that it houses some of the top female vocalists of their time. One of the most popular up and rising stars is Floridian Sylvia Brooks, whose debut album Dangerous Liaisons was featured on over 500 radio stations across the United States and Canada. Christopher Loudon of Jazz Times describes Sylvia as a “dark, smoky sound with impressive firepower.” Just who is this Sylvia Brooks?
Born into Music
Both of Sylvia’s parents came from music. She was born in Florida to father Don Ippolito, a jazz pianist who wrote for the big bands during World War II and played with Buddy Rich, Peggy Lee, and Stan Getz. Her mother was Johanna Dordick, who founded the Los Angeles Opera Theatre. Sylvia struck out on her own and hit the stage at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre in a series of national tours. She eventually was drawn back to the musical roots of her family, exchanging her acting career for a musical one and quickly becoming one of the top female vocalists in this generation.
From Television to Music
Sylvia began her career as an actress, playing Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street. She appeared in Designing Women, Mama & Son, Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, and Dallas, and was then featured in a Guns and Roses video for their song Patience.
Sylvia has a style reminiscent of cabaret singers Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, and Ella Fitzgerald, who were the premier female vocalists of their time. Sylvia has created a new genre all her own that she refers to as Jazz Noir, and has quickly become one of the leading female vocalists in Los Angeles.
Restless, her second album released in May 2012, explores the darker side of jazz. This album was named to numerous Top Ten Lists and featured on San Francisco’s first black-owned station KPOO. Her new album, The Arrangement, due to be released in Spring 2017, features three of her own compositions.
