2006 READERS' CHOICE POLL
BEST JAZZ ARTIST
"A fixture at Milwaukee's summer outdoor festivals, Ellen Winters has swept this category for three years in a row, and with good reason. Her refined voice, with its clean tones and expressive nuances, breathes new life into most every traditional song. Just as exciting as the covers are the songs she pens herself, heartfelt opuses crafted in the spirit of the classics but filtered through the lens of a strong, thoroughly modern woman." --Evan Rytlewski, Shepherd Express

An award-winning jazz vocalist, Ellen is devoted to keeping her music fresh while still paying tribute to the great jazz artists of the past.  A student of trad-jazz, Ellen has studied with some of the best jazz educators/arrangers in the country including Phil Mattson, Steve Zegree, Ron McCurdy, Steve Tyler and Chip McNeill.  Ellen's current project, Secret of Life, is a unique blend of popular and original tunes re-arranged to fit the jazz idiom.  

"Beautifully done and so sweetly sung!" -- Peter Eldridge, singer/songwriter & member of the Grammy award winning group New York Voices

Ellen has sung in award winning vocal jazz groups VoicesIowa and Gold Company and has performed at the Montreux and North Seas Jazz Festivals in Europe, the Rocky Mountain Jazz Festival in Banff and the Monterey Jazz Festival Sea Cruise.  As a soloist, Ellen has performed jazz and cabaret all over the country.  She has been featured at wonderful venues like Danny's Skylight Cabaret and Rose's Turn in New York City and the Third Ward Summer Sizzle, Bastille Days and Summerfest stages in Milwaukee.

    "If you think NY and LA are the only places to be, have I got news for you. Ellen Winters breezed through town for an intimate CD release party at Upstairs at Rose's Turn and turned it upside down with her rocking jazz/pop stylings.  Ellen is a gifted songwriter as well.  I'm listening to her fabulous 2nd CD, Secret of Life, as I write this."  -- Kevin Scott Hall - Upstairs at Rose's Turn

 
Ellen continues to be sought after as a jazz and cabaret artist throughout Milwaukee and the Midwest, while working as a clinician, adjudicator, and arranger.  Ellen is also on staff as a voice teacher/coach at the Waukesha Conservatory of Music as well as several locations/schools in Southeastern Wisconsin.  She is also Adjunct Voice Faculty at Columbia College in Chicago.   Both of Ellen's CD's are available on Amazon and CD Baby, as well as Ellen's live performances.  Ellen is signed to 251 Records, a Chicago-based independent label.