Jazz vocalist
Ranee Lee is one of Canada's most beloved jazz vocalists, celebrating over 40 years on the Montreal music scene. A true multi-faceted artist, she has built an extraordinary career as a singer, actress, songwriter, and author of children's books, earning recognition both nationally and internationally.
The holder of thirteen albums recorded for Justin Time Records — featuring some of the finest jazz musicians of our time — her impressive discography includes the Juno Award-winning Ranee Lee Lives Upstairs (2010) and the critically acclaimed Deep Song, which brought her voice to the attention of jazz fans and concert producers worldwide. A two-time recipient of the Top Canadian Female Jazz Vocalist Award presented by Jazz Report magazine (1994 and 1995), she has performed alongside jazz legends such as Clark Terry, Oliver Jones, Herb Ellis, Milt Hinton, and Red Mitchell, and has toured across Canada, the United States, Spain, France, England, and Haiti.
A Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning actress, Ranee starred in Canada's first production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, a musical portrayal of Billie Holiday. As dedicated to education as she is to performance, she has been a faculty member at both Université Laval and the Schulich School of Music at McGill University for over twenty years. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to jazz and Canadian culture, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.