"My name is Marit van der Lei. I am a 29 year old singer, born in the very east of Holland (Eibergen). In 2020 I gained my masters degree in Jazz Vocals at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, with a research about how the voice can be used in a horn section. My voice have been described as warm and emotional. I'm always on a journey to exploring my voice, expending the formal vocal techniques by studying other instruments, and imitating everyday sounds. I always try to express myself through sound, although I find lyrics to be an important asset of being a vocalist.

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From the beginning of my love-affair with jazz music, I was fascinated by the sound of horn players. This intrigue led me to a very instrumental way of thinking about sound, phrasing and composition. As a result, the music that I write for my own ‘Marit van der Lei Nextet’ sounds intense, sometimes low-key, in which the expressiveness seems to increase exponential. My debute album ‘In other words’ (2018) was received with enthusiasm, and now my name is now often being called as one of the most promising vocalists in the next generation of the Netherlands by a.o. Jazzism magazine, Jazzflits and the Keep an Eye Foundation. My new album is called "Clementia" and is my plea for more mildness. You can listen to it NOW on all the online platforms, or buy it here.

 

I am highly rooted in jazzmusic, but my broad musical intrest guided me through all different kind of projects. At the moment, besides following my own exiting journey with my Nextet, I am a.o. singing in the Large Ensemble of Kika Sprangers. Together with colleague-vocalists and dear friends Anna Serierse and Sanne Rambags I am singing in the vocal impro group 'Free the Voices'.

In previous years, I was singing in two shows that were a collaboration with dance company "De Stilte". I sang in the shows 'de Ontspoking', together with Anna and Sanne, and musically led by Martin Fondse, and 'Do-re-mikado'. 

Previous projects are among others Startas Orkester, with which we won the Keep an Eye the Records in 2014, Taj Weekes and Adowa, with which I got to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Matthew Herbert Brexit Bigband Choir, musically led by Maartje Meijer. With the bigband we played at North Sea Jazz and Middelheim Jazz and more recently the interdisciplinary movement choir "Echo". 

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Thanks for visiting my website, and let's get in touch!

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Alle liefs,

Marit van der Lei" 

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