Zaz

Zaz is the stage name of Isabelle Geffroy, a French singer-songwriter from Tours, France, born in 1980. Her work combines chanson française and jazz, and her music also draws on nu jazz, soul and acoustic styles.

Career

She begins her singing career in 2001 with the blues band Fifty Fingers. She also sings in groups in Angoulême, including a jazz quintet, and later becomes one of four singers in Izar-Adatz, a variety group of sixteen people. With that group, she tours for two years, especially in the Midi-Pyrenees and the Basque Country.

She also works as a studio chorister in Toulouse and performs with a range of artists, including Maeso, Art Mengo, Vladimir Max, Jean-Pierre Mader and Serge Guerao.

Breakthrough and recordings

In 2010, Zaz releases her debut album on the Play On label, with Kerredine Soltani producing the record. Soltani also writes and composes the single "Je veux". The album includes songs written by Zaz herself, including "Trop sensitible", as well as co-written tracks such as "Les Passants", "Le Long de la route", "Prends garde à ta langue", "J'aime à nouveau" and "Ni Oui Ni Non". Raphaël Haroche writes "Éblouie par la nuit", "Port Coton" and "La Fée".

That year she signs touring and publishing deals with Caramba and Sony ATV. She appears on television and radio programmes, including Taratata and Chabada, and tours in France and across Europe, with performances in cities including Paris, La Rochelle, Montauban, Saint-Ouen, Chateauroux, Landerneau and Fécamp, as well as at the Francofolies of Montreal, and in Monthey, Brussels, Berlin and Milan. Her debut album reaches double platinum status, and she tops the charts in Belgium, Switzerland and Austria.

Awards and recognition

Zaz receives the Revelation Song award from the Académie Charles Cros in 2010. She also wins the European Border Breaker Awards as the French artist most played abroad that year. A survey published by L'Internaute names her the most favoured singer in France in the 2010 ranking.

Discography

Her albums include Zaz, Sans Tsu-Tsou, Recto Verso, Paris, Sur La Route, Effet Miroir and Isa, along with Isa (Nouvelle édition).