jayme

Jayme came into the spotlight honestly and naturally. Just like her grandparents, the vaudeville stars. And her brother, the Chicago blues sax legend. And her movie-star niece and her platinum-record nephew. And more. She lovingly dubs her family the "talented bohemians."

"In our house, everyone was on. Everyone was animated," Jayme said. "My mom sang constantly. It was like growing up in a musical, and we were the stars."

"A lot of people sang along with Mitch Miller," she said. "But at my house, Mitch Miller sang along with me."

As a kid, Jayme (born Jayme Chlumsky) was fascinated by old-school jazz and blues that filled her home – the records of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Later, she found the music of Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa and James Brown right on schedule. With all these influences tumbling through her head and heart, Jayme first found her spotlight as the powerhouse R&B vocalist for Chicago's Air Tight. That led to a high-visibility gig with The Lovebite Orchestra, a Chicago FM station's '70s disco-pop show band. "I hated disco until it started paying the bills," she says with a laugh. "I loved it. I was the choreography queen. And when we put on those sparkly, slutty dresses, I was another character altogether."

Along the way, jazz re-asserted itself in her artistic arc. Jayme landed centerstage gigs with the jazz quartet Swingin' Business and The Carmen Dello Orchestra, and she sang with the original jazz-inflected acoustic trio Plush Cargo.

Jayme came to Houston in 2006, and has been working steadily since then. She has been the featured vocalist with many Texas orchestras and combos, including Glynn Garcia and the Little Big Band, the Night and Day Orchestra, the Remember When Orchestra and Billie Ledbetter.

"I've never been bashful. Far from it. Even at my very first auditions, I always knew I really had to bring it," Jayme said. "But I've been lucky, too. Right place, right time, so very many times."

Jayme currently gigs regularly with The Luxury Trio, and with guitarists Danny McKnight and Ray Wilson. She also blends spirit and song as she co-leads music worship at Crosspoint Eight Ten in Houston.

"Equal parts virtuoso, entertainer, temptress and field general, Jayme guides the ensemble and the audience through the set with precision pacing." – Tony Medici, Producer, Director - ijazz Media

"She is a true talent, and the stage was made for her and her voice. Thank you, Jayme, for gracing our stage. I can't wait to see you on it again." – Charles Herschbach, Jr., Director of Logistics (retired) - Texas Jazz Festival

"If Sinatra was the king of torch songs, this lady is a true princess. Her power to seduce an audience, whether with a big band or small acoustic duet or trio, is mesmerizing. She is a performer's performer." – Britt Godwin, Leader /Founder - Remember When Orchestra

"Her stage persona shifts masterfully through the night: first coy, then bossy, then sotto, then bawdy as a barrelhouse belter." – Ed Dix, Band Leader, Recording Artist

"As a business professional, Jayme is on time, on point and on top of the details. As an entertainer, she is quite simply ON." – Katrina Starling, Owner - Cork Grinders

"... a consummate performer." – The Red Fox

"She's the whole package. She's gorgeous and smart, she's talented, and she engages the audience from the moment she takes the stage." – Scott D. Smith, Audio Engineer