Kathy Sanborn is an American multi-award-winning jazz vocalist, composer, and recording artist. Known for her velvet voice, Sanborn takes jazz music into the modern era with her sultry, contemporary sound. Her unique contralto voice interprets her original compositions in an emotional way that captivates the listener. Sanborn's latest album, Romance Language, just released July 2025 on the Pacific Coast Jazz label. 

Accolades

In September 2017, Sanborn won a Clouzine International Music Award (Best Jazz Song) for her original composition, "Falling," from the album, Recollecting You.

Sanborn took home a 2015 American Songwriting Award for her world single, "Fantasy," produced by GRAMMY® winner Ricky Kej. The year 2016 brought a ZMR Award nomination and a One World Music Award nomination for her seventh album, Lights of Laniakea. In addition, Sanborn's song, “Fantasy,” was nominated for a 2014 Hollywood Music in Media Award.

The sultry songstress is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMY Awards®) and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Latin GRAMMYs). As a composer and songwriter, Sanborn is a member of BMI.

The Music - Albums

Sanborn's music includes the albums Romance Language, Recollecting You, Lights of Laniakea, Fantasía, Sultry Night, Six Degrees of Cool, Blues for Breakfast, Small Galaxy, and Peaceful Sounds.

The Music - Singles

Her song, "Love Will Light the Way," released September 2018, and features GRAMMY® winning guitarist MASA. In 2019, Sanborn released the film title track of "Three Days of the Condor," composed by the brilliant Dave Grusin. October 2020 brought the release of "America the Beautiful" to the worldwide stage.

Her first 2022 single, "The Best Is Yet to Come," released in January. The upbeat tune inspires listeners everywhere to be positive and optimistic in these ever-changing times.

In May 2022, Sanborn released "I'll Do Anything," a calming, peaceful song. Of all her compositions, the singer-songwriter says "I'll Do Anything" is one of her favorites.

Sung in Spanish, “Fantasy,” the award-winning composition released in 2014, showcases Sanborn's renowned sultry vocals and signature jazzy style.

The singles “Magnetized” and “Christmas Time” were both released in 2011.

No Copycat Jazz Here!

Kathy is a big supporter of moving jazz music ahead in the 21st century. Instead of recording old standards, she chooses to create new ones for the modern era.

She says, “I love many of the old jazz songs, but they have been done time and again. My goal is to move forward and compose fresh jazz vocal songs for modern audiences.

"My recording process differs from album to album and single to single. Often we’ll utilize the talents of amazing musicians such as Grammy® nominee Scott Petito (bass) and Chris Carey (drums) whose artistry appeared on the 2011 release, Blues for Breakfast. On my 2017 album, Recollecting You, we chose Vito Gregoli (guitar), Rocio Marron (violin), and Grammy® nominee Ciro Hurtado (guitar) to add their special talents to the project, along with Abhinav Khanna (drums) and Aman Almeida (piano). Of course, the ultra-talented Wayne Ricci is the trumpeter throughout the recordings, weaving a tapestry of silky tones.

"And yet, the common thread for every album is the set of all-original songs. Every lyric and every note of music is written by me. I often wear many hats along the way: producer, composer, lyricist, arranger, recording engineer, and, finally, performer. Whew!

"Two things I never use: pitch correction or vocal layering (doubling up the voice to make it more powerful). The voice you hear is the voice that was recorded, every time. Because Jazz is all about being REAL, my voice has to be authentically my own, or it ain’t Jazz."