Mavis Swan Poole

JAZZ, SOUL, and R&B VOCALIST

Raleigh, NC

 

Crowned "Little Ella" by the late legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller, Award winning Vocal Musician MAVIS SWAN POOLE has generated quite a buzz on the international music scene. She is graced with an unrivaled brilliance of shattering genre barriers with her rich and smoky sound. Poole is known for being one of the first R&B/Jazz/Soul Vocalists to employ her ability to sing two or more notes simultaneously, or "multiphonics". A rare gift since childhood, which has remained with her even as a vocal surgery and sulcus survivor. 

The late Al Jarreau summed it up best after her band (co-led with Jeremy BEAN Clemons), "Soul Understated" played at the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival in June 2015. "Listen, I was around with Coltrane and Miles. They wouldn't have wanted to get on the stage after what y'all just did." In truth, Queen Mavis can croon as sweetly as a bird, or wail and scat out fiery tones and improvised lines with the most confident of instrumentalist.

“Listen, I was around with Coltrane and Miles. They wouldn’t have wanted to get on the stage after what y’all just did.”
— Al Jarreau

SWAN has performed with, opened for, or shared the stage with the greats in most genres. To name a few, Lauryn Hill, Lyfe Jennings, 9th Wonder, Chrisette Michelle, PRINCE and NPG, After 7, Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, Shirley Caesar, Dr. Billy Taylor, and The Wailers. While she has performed with other artists, she performs under her own name, and her original music, proving a true Artist and Composer in her own right.

SWAN is a 2007 Magna Cum Laude graduate of North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. There, she was Classically trained, earning a BA in Music Education, as well as a BM in Music, with a concentration in Jazz Vocal Studies. In 2011, she received her MA in Music, with a concentration in Jazz Vocal Performance at Queens College in NYC. She also attended college for Psychology.

As an Educator, SWAN has reached a 25 year milestone teaching K-12 students as well as adults. She was a Vocal Jazz Adjunct Professor at North Carolina Central University, and is currently a Vocal Jazz Professor at A&T College, as well as a 6-12 grade Music Teacher at a prestigious charter school. She always plans to continue to perform her own music around the world in while inspiring and teaching others. SWAN is also a Vocal Coach that boasts teaching experience that spans over 20 years.

She is now making her most magical foray into the national scene of urban adult music with the soulfully crafted EP entitled, ‘Adult Time: Vol 1’, which features masterpiece singles like, "The Assignment", "How Do We Grow", and “Every Man Ain’t The Same”. Inspired by her personal experiences, the world around her, and her private relationships, these projects were skillfully sculpted by Mavis and producer Eddie Gypsy Stokes.

Queen SWAN is definitely carving her space in the Musicverse, and establishing a solid legacy that will ensure she and her music is remembered for years and years to come.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

VENUE & FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

AWARDS, PRESS, and APPEARANCES

 SAMPLE RECORDINGS