Elizabeth Bougerol doesn't just sing jazz standards — she resurrects them, bringing early 20th-century songs roaring back to life with reverence for the genre's roots, while making every song her own. She has become one of the leading voices in a new generation of women redefining the classic jazz singer, blending vintage sounds (that draw on icons as different as Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, and Ray Charles) with an unmistakably modern voice and a storyteller's eye for the music’s history. Part performer, part cultural historian, Elizabeth is known for digging up the stories behind the songs and the people and eras that shaped them, placing classic jazz and vintage pop back in context. WBGO's Nate Chinen calls her gift for audience connection "the secret sauce" — and once you've heard her live, it's easy to hear why.

She wrote Banned Jazz, which debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2024 as a show celebrating how music blacklisted in Nazi-occupied Europe became the soundtrack of freedom, and Appetites, her ’24/’25 solo project that launched with sold-out runs at Joe's Pub and Birdland, threading a joy-as-resistance narrative through new arrangements of classics from Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and Danny Barker. In 2026, that same passion for history led her into the world of classic film as a co-host of Noir City, the celebrated film noir festival, alongside TCM’s Eddie Muller — pairing her storytelling instincts with her love of the era's music and mood. She also produced and performed Are You Having Any Fun? Elizabeth Bougerol Celebrates Tony Bennett at 100, tracing his life and legacy and telling the story of how Bennett — over the course of one afternoon, when she interviewed him for a magazine profile — helped put her on the path to a life in music.

Elizabeth is the co-founder, vocalist, and creative force behind The Hot Sardines, the powerhouse early-jazz revival band that's earned acclaim around the globe. With her at the helm and on mic, the band has been called "potent and assured" by The New York Times and "simply phenomenal" by The Times of London. They've released seven albums — including their Universal Classics/Decca debut — racked up tens of millions of streams, toured internationally, and played major festivals from Montreal Jazz Festival to Newport Jazz Festival to the Blue Note Jazz Festival in Japan. Their symphony show, created in collaboration with the Boston Pops, has since traveled to 21 other orchestras.

Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and the granddaughter of Canadian trumpeter Bobby Gimby, OC, Elizabeth is equally at home singing in English and her native French. Whether fronting her solo project, co-leading The Hot Sardines, or bringing new life to the songs, singers, and stories of the past, she's building a legacy as a solo artist, bandleader, and one of the genre's most compelling chroniclers. She lives in New York City.

(photo Louis Ziggy Tucker; @fomoloop)