Carmen Woodruff sings from her truth—heartfelt, soul-stirring, and honest. A Detroit metropolitan native, Carmen was introduced to jazz at age 11 and has been captivated by the music ever since. Through performance and storytelling, she invites audiences to connect with the timeless beauty of jazz while embracing the possibilities of tomorrow.
Her international adventures have taken her to South Africa, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, where she has performed in festivals, clinics, corporate events, and productions. While in Spain, Carmen opened the Valencia Jazz Festival and debuted her self-written and self-produced one-woman show, Ella and Me: A Conversation with Music, at Valencia’s Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar.
In the United States, she has performed at Busch Gardens, Walt Disney World Resort, and the former Detroit Montreux Jazz Festival, where she was twice named “Teal Jazz Vocalist of the Year.” She has studied with and been inspired by artists including Celia Mur, JoBelle Yonely, Patrice Rushen, Nona Hendrix, Randy Scott, Martha Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Sunny Wilkinson, Stephen Webber, Livingston Taylor, and Peter Eldridge, and has shared the stage with jazz artists including Ursula Walker, Straight Ahead, Greg Hopkins, Doug Johnson, Perico Sambeat, Marlena Shaw, Don Cunningham, and Alicia Cunningham.
Carmen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance from Berklee College of Music, and completed a post-master’s fellowship at the Berklee Boston campus where she assisted with launching the inaugural Boston-based master’s programs. During her time there, she was coached and encouraged by leading voices in jazz and contemporary music where she further developed her show Ella and Me: One woman's tribute to the first lady of song to perform for her multimedia jazz-themed creative project.
Carmen earned her first Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has taught at the collegiate and community levels and currently works as a marketing director and vocal coach.
Now based in Las Vegas, she remains active in the local community through the Las Vegas Jazz Society and the Junior League of Las Vegas. During the pandemic, she learned about virtual jazz communities including JazzVoice.com and the Good Hearts Club jam – of which she is still a participant – finding continued professional development and connection during a pivotal time for musicians.
