Didi Grooves Jazz Duo from New York City, NY

Pianist/Vocalist Didi Grooves has taken upscale and intimate live performances to a fresh level of artful elegance. Her deep repertoire of jazz, blues, and select sophisticated pop songs; her imaginative arrangements of familiar songs; her soulful technical prowess; and her read-the-room performance instincts create a warmly refined atmosphere. Didi's live appearances appeal to jazz and blues fans and casual listeners who just enjoy finely curated music experiences. "I want to be a blessing to the audience and give them the gift of prime vocal jazz. Music is spiritual, and I want to put positive energy out there and connect with people," the NYC-based artist says. Didi's repertoire renditions are imaginatively arranged, and feature tasteful sprinklings of rock, funk, and the singer-songwriter traditions. Her musical approach has garnered favorable comparisons to modern classicists such as Diana Krall and Chris Botti. In addition to her primary work as a song catalog performer, Didi is a composer and a songwriter who in her own music fuses funk, chill jazz, pop, blues, and rock with a bold improvisational approach. She brings beloved songs to life in a variety of performance configurations, including solo piano/vocal, duo with guitar, and trio with bass. Upon request, she can coordinate larger ensembles with drums and horn players. Didi's artistry perfectly complements private events, receptions, small jazz venues, and dinner cruises. In every setting, her and her band are punctual, impeccably dressed, and well-rehearsed. To sample the Didi live experience, she has available a live video reel with her performing 5 songs in a warm, duo setting. Didi had an international upbringing. She was born in Riga, Latvia, and her mother who was a classical musician and piano teacher. At age 4, she embarked on her music journey, singing and playing piano, and, by 14, she was a professionally gigging musician, touring and performing as a choir accompanist. As a young child and a teen, Didi immersed herself in the rigorous study habits of classical musicians, but was soon seduced away from the classical music path by the spirit of jazz and blues. Upon entering this new world, she quickly garnered regional recognition performing with the beloved, long-running institution the Latvian Blues Band. "I'm a rebel," she says with a good-natured laugh. "I liked the freedom and non-conformity in of jazz and blues—I crave thrills and soul." The minute Didi turned 18, she raced away from Latvia to study jazz at a Berklee College Of Music partner school in Freiburg, Germany. In these very formative years, her real studies began to take place on the bandstand as she grew as an artist through actively performing jazz, blues, and gospel around Germany, Switzerland, and in London. In 2012, she set down roots in New York City and began playing and sitting in at various venerated venues throughout the city. Since then, Didi has also honed her performance chops through playing on cruise ships. In this context, she has worked with major cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Thinking about her journey, her love of music, and the gigs on the horizon, Didi says: "Performing live puts me in an eternal state of happiness, and it's a huge privilege to share that with others. I get a lot of joy out of making the world a happier place one song at a time."