Julia Sarr is a Mezzo-soprano born in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...

(

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

) from the Serer ethnic group. As one of the most sought after backing vocalists, she has worked with several prominent artists over the years including

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

Lokua Kanza Lokua Kanza (born April 1958) is a singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is known for his soulful, folksy sound. Biography Lokua Kanza was born Pascal Lokua Kanza in Bukavu in the province of Sud-Kivu, in the eastern p ...

and Patrice Larose.Jazz times, Volume 36, Issues 4-5. Published by: Jazztimes, 2006

Career

Julia launched her singing career based on

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

polyrhythmic Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...

signatures rooted in her Serer heritage with

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

(Fela Anikulapo Kuti) who was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

multi-instrumentalist musician and composer as well as the pioneer of

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecti ...

music. Julia became one of the most sought-after backing vocalist in Paris where she has lived for over twenty years working with artists like

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French ...

, Michel Fugain,

MC Solaar Claude M'Barali, professionally known as MC Solaar (; born 5 March 1969), is a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. Some consider him the best French rapper of all t ...

, Julio Iglesias and the celebrated Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour. For several years, Julia Sarr had shared the stage and studio with the Congolese singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer

. She has also worked with

Jean-Claude Petit Jean-Claude Petit (born 14 November 1943) is a French composer and arranger, born in Vaires-sur-Marne. After accompanying jazzmen in his childhood, Petit went to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied harmony and counterpoint. He did the st ...

(the French composer and arranger) singing in a cappella in his score for

Raoul Peck Raoul Peck (born 9 September 1953 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a Haitian filmmaker, of both documentary and feature films. He is known for using historical, political, and personal characters to tackle and recount societal issues and historical ...

's film Lumumba (2010) starring

Eriq Ebouaney Eriq Ebouaney (born 3 October 1967) is a French actor. He is best known for his portrayal as the Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba in the 2000 film '' Lumumba'', as "Blacktie" in Brian De Palma's '' Femme Fatale'' and as "Ice" in the 2008 ...

. After nurturing her solo aspirations and songwriting quietly for years, Julia partnered with Patrice Larose, a

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura an ...

-inspired French guitarist with whom she has released an album titled ''"Set Luna"'' (on the No Format! and Universal Jazz labels in Europe and on the boutique label

Sunnyside Records Sunnyside Records is an American jazz record company and label established by François Zalacain in 1982 initially to release an album by pianist Harold Danko. Albums by Kirk Lightsey and Lee Konitz soon followed beginning a sequence of releas ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

). ''"Set Luna",'' from the

Wolof language Wolof (; Wolofal: ) is a language of Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family ...

translates to "So I’ve Observed" which they performed in the United States at the Carnegie Hall on 24 October 2005 to great reviews.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarr, Julia Mezzo-sopranos Serer singers 20th-century Senegalese women singers People from Dakar Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Wolof-language singers 21st-century Senegalese women singers