Synia Carroll

Jazz vocalist Synia Carroll has a unique ability to use her deep, silky-smooth voice to engage with her audiences and establish a connection few singers are able to achieve.

Music has always been an important part of her life, from the time she grew up in Philadelphia, but she didn’t discover her passion for jazz until her late 40s. As a child she began writing her own songs and performed folk/rock in high school. After graduating from Wesleyan University, she moved to New York City where she worked as a professional recording artist, explored Soca (Calypso) Music, and was the lead vocalist of the Mikata African/Caribbean Funk Ensemble for nine years. When she became a school teacher in New Haven, Connecticut to raise her two children, she continued to perform with local Pop, Rock and R&B bands.

In 2008, while singing with the Brian Butler Group, Synia found her love for jazz standards and great vocal artists like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughn. Four years ago, she took early retirement and relocated to Sarasota to connect to the rich Suncoast music scene and pursue a career as a professional jazz singer. Performing frequently throughout Sarasota, Venice, and the Tampa Bay area, she has appeared at the 2016 St. Petersburg Jazz Festival, the 2017 Suncoast Jazz Classic in Clearwater Beach, and the Sarasota Jazz Festival’s Pub Crawl from 2016 to 2019. Synia has headlined numerous concerts at the Florida Studio Threatre in Sarasota, the Palladium Side Door and the American Stage, both in St. Petersburg; and the Jazz Club of Sarasota's "Jazz At Two" series. Synia recently received the "Maestro" award for her auto biographical, musical performance "Finding Sassy" at the 2019 Sarasolo Festival.