Isabelle Geffroy, professionally known as Zaz, is a French singer-songwriter born on May 1, 1980. She is renowned for blending jazzy styles, French variety, soul, and acoustic music. Her debut album, released on May 10, 2010, features the hit single "Je veux" and has sold over 5 million albums worldwide, with 2 million outside France.
Zaz was born in Tours, France, to a Spanish teacher mother and an electric company worker father. She began her musical journey at the Conservatoire de Tours at the age of 6, studying music theory, violin, piano, guitar, and choral singing. She later moved to Bordeaux, where she took singing lessons and played sports before winning a scholarship to join the CIAM (Centre for Musical Activities and Information) in 2000.
Zaz's musical influences include Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, and other artists like Enrico Macias, Bobby McFerrin, and Richard Bona, as well as African, Latin, and Cuban rhythms. In 2006, she relocated to Paris.
Her professional career began in 2001 as a member of the blues band "Fifty Fingers" and later in a jazz quintet in Angoulême. She became one of the four singers of Izar-Adatz, a variety band that toured the Midi-Pyrenees and the Basque Country for two years. She also worked as a backing singer in Toulouse and performed with numerous artists, including Maeso, Art Mengo, Vladimir Max, Jean-Pierre Mader, and Serge Guerao.
In 2011, Zaz won an EBBA Award, recognizing her success in reaching international audiences with her first album. The European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) annually honor ten emerging artists who have achieved success outside their home countries.
In May 2010, French magazine Télérama predicted that Zaz would be the summer's revelation, and on May 10, 2010, she released her self-titled debut album. The album features songs she wrote and co-composed, as well as productions by Kerredine Soltani and contributions from pop singer Raphaël Haroche. Zaz signed a contract for her tours with Caramba and publisher Sony ATV, and she made several television appearances and radio programs. She even performed live on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show in London in 2013.
