Mix Room Jam - Nadine Matthews

Nice Beard Studios Present another Mix Room Jam Session featuring the stellar Nadine Matthews

Nadine Matthews has a smooth and mellow style rooted in Jazz, R&B/Soul. Raised in Kensington, Cape Town to the sounds of Motown, R&B, Jazz, Pop and Hip Hop, Nadine has developed an appreciation for various musical genres. She draws her experience from a range of artists including jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan to soul divas such as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and India Arie. Using experience gained in the Jazz genre and the appreciation of various styles, Nadine crossed over and started showcasing original work in 2009.

Nadine's musical journey started in 1986 at Windermere Primary school singing in the choir where she received the opportunity to perform as a soloist. She continued with choir through high school. While completing her tertiary education, Nadine started private vocal lessons and found her way to the Jazz Workshop where she was introduced to Monday night Jazz jam sessions. It was a rocky start but perseverance and tenacity helped build the confidence needed to start performing at various Jazz showcases such as Johnnie Walker Jazz Impressions, Cape Town and the Jazzathon 2002.

In 2003 Nadine followed her passion for travel and packed up for London, UK for 2 years. Here she attended the Saturday Jazz School at Richmond College in Richmond, UK. Jazz theory and Performance classes provided Nadine with the opportunity to perform at venues just as Jazz Cafe, College showcases and Battersea Barge.

Upon her return to Cape Town in 2005, Nadine was blessed to perform with pioneering Hip Hop outfit BVK (Brasse Vannie Kaap) and later Langarm (Ballroom) "institution" Ikey Gamba Dance Band. Working with BVK introduced Nadine to the possibility of showcasing original works by performing at Skouspel 2006, MTN Festival at Artscape and Killarney to mention a few. Being an active member in 2007 of the Ikey Gamba Dance band, who have been in existence for almost 6 decades, provided Nadine with a valuable education in the world of Langarm. In 2008, after much contemplation Nadine started working on creating original works while performing with the Mark Sheppard Jazz Project under the direction of drummer/percussionist Stephen Richardson.

2009 has seen Nadine launch her career as a vocalist regularly sharing her conversational lyrics and melodic, mellow tones with her audience at Cape Town venues such as Zula Bar and Obs Café.