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28 year old, Half-Filipina, half Bajan songstress Elisa Caleb has impressed critics so much recently that she’s been compared to the mighty Ella Fitzgerald, having deservedly caused ripples in the UK Jazz Scene. Sounding like an old pro it’s difficult to imagine that Elisa’s vocal ability only became evident as she hit young adulthood. West London-born but raised in Barbados, her encounter with music as a child was a world apart from where she is now.
"I came over [to the UK] just before my 13th birthday. In terms of the music I do now I only heard jazz when I came here. Going to church in Barbados did give me a lot of grounding in Gospel music. Caribbean churches, I’d even say predominantly black churches here are very different, a different atmosphere. The whole congregation sings the harmony, claps and dances; it’s like the whole church is part of the band, which is great."
As she came into her formative years, Elisa discovered the joys of jazz listening to the radio; "I got a stereo on my 14th birthday and that’s when I started listening to Jazz FM after school, the evening hours with
Helen Mayhew... a lot of great tracks." Later on in her teens, a chance encounter with a gaggle of gifted young musicians really kick started Elisa’s musical journey. "When I went to college at 16 I met Jo [Caleb, guitarist and Elisa’s future husband],
Michael Olatuja and
Amy Winehouse’s former musical director,
Femi Temowo - who produced my album.
