Private Events
Brenda Earle Stokes is a unique performer of the highest caliber. A singer and pianist who knows how to entertain, her diverse background and extensive international experience make her a perfect addition to any event or occasion.
A classically trained pianist, Brenda Earle Stokes became obsessed with jazz in high school and went on to study jazz in Toronto. After years of singing with choirs, Stokes started incorporating solo vocals into her performing work and opened up a whole new dimension of gigs.
Watch the video below to see her in action!
At age 23 Brenda was the youngest musician ever hired to perform in the piano bar on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Over the course of three years, she performed 6 nights a week as an entertainer taking requests and playing over 100 songs per night. She quickly became their top ranked entertainer, singing in 4 languages and entertaining a huge range of guests from all over the world.
In 2002 Brenda ended up in New York City, establishing herself as a rising star jazz pianist, vocalist and composer, all the while performing endless gigs in the NYC area. Brenda has played hundreds events including intimate family parties, lavish country club weddings and top level fundraisers in ballrooms. She has toured the world as a bandleader and side musician
Some notable events include:
- The Ronald McDonald House charity fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria NYC (2000+ people in attendance)
- Carnegie Hall as a fundraiser for the NY Pops Orchestra’s Kids in the Balcony
- Feinstein’s at the Regency with Ann Hampton Calloway
- 54 Below in New York City
- Birthday party for Gwyneth Paltrow at Babbo in NYC
Brenda was the official pianist for the Residence of the Canadian Ambassador to the UN, playing dozens of events for numerous world leaders. Highlights include a special cocktail party for the First Spouses of world leaders which was hosted by First Lady of Canada Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau and a farewell party for US Ambassador to the UN and presidential candidate Nikki Haley. (For both events, the guests of honor came up to Stokes shocked that she had researched their favorite songs and played them at the event!)
Often referred to as the “human juke box” Brenda weaves together an extraordinary repertoire of jazz standards, Broadway hits, holiday songs, favorite songs of different nationalities and popular songs from the past century. One minute she will be crooning some Frank Sinatra, the next she will be playing 60s Motown and then turn on a dime and play Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift.
Stokes loves playing a range of events and connecting with all of the guests. Whether it is playing a request for a wedding song, leading a singalong of holiday songs or getting all the kids at the party to dance and sing together, her bubbly personality and natural sense of humor make her a fantastic addition to any situation.
Whether it is playing instrumental background music for a quiet event or getting the whole room singing along, Stokes is the highest caliber performer.
Brenda Earle Stokes is available as a:
- solo pianist
- vocalist/pianist
- duo with saxophone or bass
- trio with or without drums
- quartet with bass, drums and saxophone
- quintet with bass, drums, saxophone and guitar
Brenda Earle Stokes has her own high quality, professional equipment including a full sized keyboard and PA system. She can take requests and even learn special songs by request.
Contact Brenda Earle Stokes: brenda@brendaearle.com
In addition to her life as performer and composer, Brenda is a well-known music educator and entrepreneur. She runs a busy private studio in New York City serving local students in person and virtually all around the globe. An early adopter of online courses, Brenda has served hundreds of people around the world with her bestselling courses. Her online membership The Versatile Musician contains 27 unique courses totaling over 1000 video tutorials and nearly 2000 pages of original print material content. Her YouTube channel Piano and Voice with Brenda boasts nearly 40,000 subscribers and 55,000 hours of viewers per month.
She has taught for the Midori and Friends Foundation, developed curricula for the New York Pops Orchestra, arranged music, and taught for the Grammy-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus. She is a frequent guest clinician, speaker, and adjudicator for music festivals and organizations.
Brenda Earle Stokes is active in outreach, having developed educational programming for the The New York Pops Kids in the Balcony program and holding a ten-year residency at the Ronald McDonald House in NYC. Brenda is passionate about activism and is a member of the Women in Jazz Organization (WIJO), helping to represent and empower women in the wider jazz community.
Additional Video Highlights
Press Highlights
“Stokes revs up on eclecticism, centering her jazz improvisation and pop-jazz adventures…shimmers with energetic scatting and cheery piano”
Downbeat Magazine
“This music speaks to artistic sophistication while addressing the quiet comforts of the medium.”
Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
“Absolutely stunning.”
One World Music (UK)
“The result is nothing short of outstanding with Brenda taking full control of her direction and creating a piece of contemporary jazz that is refined and seductive.”
The Jazz Music Blog
“When a recording is as fine as this, nothing is more welcome than seeing Volume 1 in the title.”
C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
“Here to play, not play around.”
Chris Spector, Midwest Record
“A stone joy from the opening notes to the close.”
Richard Kamins, Step Tempest
“Stokes is very much her own woman and stamps her individuality on both her singing and her piano playing.”
Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here
…a breezy delight.”
Time Out New York
“…the first to stand out was pianist-singer Brenda Earle, whose talent gracefully bridges jazz and pop.”
The Washington Post
“With a mix of originals and covers from Sinatra and Suzanne Vega to our own Finn brothers, Earle demonstrated her mastery of the urban ballad.”
The Press (New Zealand)
“Her keyboard work throughout embodies lyrical melody, deft harmonies and smart pacing…”
The Toronto Star
“She has her own way of writing music that meshes fine with modern jazz esthetics.”
JazzTimes
“…expressive voices and lively piano stylings.”
The Spill Magazine
“Brenda Earle has a well-trained, sweet-sounding, pure voice and piano and songwriting skills that are displayed ably…”
All About Jazz
“Earle is an incredibly gifted artist, whose creative instincts continue to bluer the lines between jazz, rock and pop music.
Riviting Riffs Magazine