Kate Kortum
About this Artist
Kate Kortum is a 23-year-old breakout jazz vocalist from Houston, Texas, known for her warm, distinctive sound that blends bebop, blues, the Great American Songbook, and musical theatre with captivating, story-driven lyrics. Her artistry offers audiences a fresh, contemporary take on
the jazz tradition.
Kortum’s passion for music began at Houston’s legendary High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she studied flute and saxophone before ultimately falling in love with singing. She went on to earn a degree in jazz voice from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and a master’s degree from the Juilliard School.
Her debut album, Good Woman, released in September 2023 on Bandstand Presents, reimagines jazz standards originally written by men, reclaiming them through bold arrangement and a female perspective. The album resonated widely, surpassing 1 million streams in its first month and now boasting over 3.5 million streams.
In her short career, Kortum has already received numerous accolades, including multiple DownBeat Magazine and National YoungArts awards. She has performed on some of the most iconic stages in jazz, including the Newport Jazz Festival, SXSW, Birdland, Mezzrow, Dizzy’s Club, Blue Note, and Jazz at Lincoln Center alongside the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. She has also collaborated with leading artists such as Cyrille Aimée, Bryan Carter, Peter Bernstein, Emmet Cohen, and Wynton Marsalis.
Kortum’s highly anticipated sophomore album, Wild Woman, is set to be released on August 15, 2025, promising to further showcase her daring musicality and singular voice in the contemporary jazz landscape.