SHAYNA

Dynamic vocalist Shayna Steele puts new meaning to diversity and grass-roots talent. Ever since her 2015 release Rise reached No. 2 on the U.S. iTunes jazz charts, Steele’s effortless execution of both soul and jazz has grabbed the attention of audiences globally, be it at the Vancouver Jazz Festival, the Blue Note in New York City, or as a guest vocalist with some of the biggest symphonies throughout North America. With her brand-new studio album Gold Dust, Steele’s creative abilities explode in multiple genres. Produced by David Cook, Gold Dust embodies a sound that has taken Steele more than 20 years to perfect. The album features a fresh cover of Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” featuring Grammy-nominated saxophonist Donny McCaslin. It also highlights new original material including the inspiring anthem “The Bloodline” and the sultry “Behind Closed Doors” with jazz crooner Sachal Vasandani. But it’s the new arrangement of Stevie Nicks’ “Gold Dust Woman” that truly showcases Steele’s explosive vocals.

Borne from the pandemic’s gridlock on the music industry, Steele’s inspiration for Gold Dust was fueled by her creative relationship – and extra time – with her family. It drove her to not only plan a new album, but to return to music school almost 30 years later to finish her music degree. Through her studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Steele not only maintained a 3.95 GPA, but created many of the album’s tracks within the classroom.

Born in Sacramento, Steele lived the itinerant childhood of an American Air Force brat. Moving from California to Oklahoma and then to Ramstein, Germany for seven formative years, she had little chance to contemplate her racial identity until her family landed in Biloxi, MS in 1985. There, Steele dove headfirst into music, entering (and winning) pageants and talent shows, including an appearance on Star Search at age 15. Just three months after her fateful 1996 move to New York City, Steele landed a role as the first replacement in the history of the Broadway production of Rent This led to roles in Jesus Christ Superstar and as a member of the girl group The Dynamites in the Tony-winning musical Hairspray. She later reprised her role in NBC’s 2016 presentation Hairspray Live. No stranger to either the small or silver screen, Steele can be heard on the Legally Blonde 2, Bambi 2 and Sex and the City 2 soundtracks, and made a guest appearance on The Sopranos. More recently, Steele appears on the soundtrack to the 2021 motion picture In the Heights