Ava was voted “Best Female Vocalist” at the 2024 Cleveland Music Awards. To learn more click here

Ava was voted “Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist Outstanding Performance” in the 2024 Downbeat Student Music Awards. To learn more click here

Ava Preston is a jazz vocalist and indie singer/songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. When performing her wide array of jazz and blues standards, audience members often describe her as an “Old Soul.” Ava is a 2023 YoungArts Finalist and Silver Award Winner for Jazz/Voice. She is also a 12x Downbeat Student Music Award Winner: 6x for Vocal Jazz Soloist 2018-2023 and 6x for Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist 2018, 2020-2024. Ava was voted Best Female Vocalist at the 2024 Cleveland Music Awards.

An active singer in Northeast Ohio, she began her career singing at a jazz club when she was 10-years old. A few years later she was featured at a number of local venues including The Bop Stop, BluJazz+, Nighttown, Beachland Ballroom, Brothers Lounge, The Standard, Tri-C JazzFest, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to name a few. She has also performed with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Dominick Farinacci, Swingbone, Moises Borges, The Joey Skoch Trio, and was the lead singer for two 17-piece big bands: Swing Time Big Band and Swing Era Big Band..

On the national scene, Ava performed at the 2023 Monterey Jazz Festival as the vocalist for the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Other venue performances include Jazz at Lincoln Center/Dizzy’s Club (NYC), Birdland Jazz Club (NYC), Small’s (NYC), Bluebird Café (Nashville), Andy’s Jazz Club (Chicago) and the Monty Alexander Jazz Festival (Easton, MD). Ava has been privileged to perform with such jazz greats as Monty Alexander, John Clayton, Jon Thomas, Sullivan Fortner, Braxton Cook, and Dan Wilson. In 2017, Ava was honored to sing for Wynton Marsalis, who said she had “a gift…a lot of talent and personality.” In 2019, legendary band leader and composer Paul Shaffer watched Ava perform her original song “Toy Solder” and said, “That was a terrific song. You have a big future ahead of you.” 

As an aspiring songwriter, Ava has recorded a number of original songs that span jazz, indie, and pop/rock. Steve Bogard, songwriter of ten number one country songs, recognized Ava’s songwriting ability when she was 11-years old at his songwriter’s camp and encouraged her to visit Nashville. Ava released “Toy Solder” and “Wide Awake” in 2020 and “Move Along,” “Some Overdose” and “Antifreeze” in 2023. Ava was interviewed and performed her original songs for two PBS programs: “Applause Performances” and “Songs at the Center” for their 10th season. A passionate consumer all types of musical genres and styles, she also loves to sing in French, Spanish and Portuguese. Ava draws inspiration from jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Cyrille Aimee and Astrud Gilberto along with pop singer/songwriters like Sara Bareilies and Alanis Morissette. 

Teachers and mentors are very important to Ava and include internationally acclaimed trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, pianist Theron Brown, guitarist Kurt Reed, vocalist Kim Nazarian, vocalist La Tanya Hall, classical vocalist Emily Stauch, Jean Baylor (6x Grammy Nominated jazz vocalist), and Jazzmeia Horn (3x Grammy Nominated jazz vocalist), among others. Ava is currently pursuing a Masters of Music in Jazz Voice at the Juilliard School.

Ava's artistic influences and inspiration are best explained in her own words. She writes: 

“I find people inspiring most of all. Listening to the vocal “greats” including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone and appreciating their strong voices, not only in their singing, but in equality for all, truly made jazz into a movement as much as a genre. More modern artists such as Sarah Bareilles, Nora Jones, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks, Eva Cassidy, Esperanza Spalding, Jean Baylor, Jazzmeia Horn, Somi, and Diana Krall stimulate my creative expression. 

I believe that music is a universal language that can unite people around the world. My platforms are dedicated to promoting unity and anti-bullying. My hope is to move society in a positive direction with my art. Although world peace is a nice thought, I believe it is an unrealistic absolute for a flawed human condition. My goal is to spread world tolerance and the acceptance of differences through my music.”