Austin Jazz Hero
Texas
Though she remembers as a schoolgirl hearing Nancy Wilson’s “I Had A Ball” as a daily radio show send-off, it was not until Pamela Hart moved from her native Los Angeles to Austin in 1982 that jazz vocals became her passion. The audio collection of the Austin Public Library exposed her to the great female jazz singers from Billie Holiday to Ella Fitzgerald.
From there, she studied with local legend Dr. James Polk — who was named a Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Hero in 2017, and died last June. Dr. Polk was her mentor, taking her to perform in international festivals. And as years passed, Hart established herself as one of the finest vocalists the city has to offer, even called by Austin Women’s Magazine “Austin’s First Lady of Jazz.”
Now the Jazz Journalists Association hails Pamela Hart as Austin’s 2025 Jazz Hero, bringing attention to what truly sets her apart: Her advocacy and activism for jazz off of the bandstand. Specifically, her efforts to share her knowledge and expertise of jazz with our broader local public.
In 1994, Hart and her husband Kevin Hart started the 501(c)(3) non-profit Women in Jazz Association, which aims — through concerts and workshops — to provide professional development in performance techniques and music industry knowledge to female vocalists. In pursuit of that mission, it has hosted a youth jazz education program, produced a semi-annual Women in Jazz Concert Series, mounted a semi-annual festival (next one coming August 30, 2025) and regularly schedules shows, such as the four acts at The Long Center on International Jazz Day, April 30.
Hart has herself taught vocal workshops across Austin, from the Carver Museum to the Children’s Museum to several public schools. Seeing a need to share jazz with the elder generation and people with limited mobility, she started the “Uplift Jazz Project,” which hosts jazz performances at senior community centers and nursing homes. Hart has served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Music Museum, through which she has worked to ensure the continued legacy of Austin’s jazz community.
More than simply another dedicated jazz vocalist — albeit one who respects and dramatizes lyrics, explores the Great American Songbook and is generous with bandmates in performance — Hart is truly a Jazz Hero and ambassador to the Live Music Capital.
— Rob Shepherd
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