ABOUT

Ava Preston is a 21-year-old up and coming vocalist, composer and arranger based in Cleveland and New York City. She is known for her rich blend of jazz, blues, indie, and original music. When performing her wide array of jazz and blues standards, audience members often describe her as an “Old Soul.” Ava is the Winner of the 2026 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition, is a 12x Downbeat Student Music Award Winner: 6x for Vocal Jazz Soloist and 6x for Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist, a 2023 YoungArts Finalist, and was voted Best Female Vocalist at the 2024 Cleveland Music Awards. Ava was selected as the Vocalist for the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, which brings together 20 of the most accomplished high school jazz musicians in the country, culminating in a main stage performance at the 2023 Monterey Jazz Festival. In 2025, Ava created Sidewalk Swing, an event to “bring jazz and joy directly to the people” on 12 street corners throughout Manhattan, which featured student and alumni combos from seven local universities. The project was featured on NBC New York and received press from All About Jazz.

An active singer in Northeast Ohio, she began her career singing at a jazz club when she was 10-years old. A few years later she was featured at a number of local venues including The Bop Stop, Tri-C JazzFest, BluJazz+, The Music Box, Beachland Ballroom, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to name a few. She has performed with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, collaborated for many years with trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, and was the lead singer for two 17-piece big bands.

On the national scene, Ava has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center-Dizzy’s Club, Nublu Classic, Blues Alley, Bluebird Café, Blue Llama Jazz Club, Con Alma, Andy’s Jazz Club, and the Monty Alexander Jazz Festival. Ava has been privileged to perform with such jazz greats as Monty Alexander, John Clayton, Dan Wilson, Sachal Vasandani, Vanessa Rubin, Braxton Cook, and Jon Thomas. Legendary band leader and composer Paul Shaffer watched Ava perform her original song “Toy Solder” and said, “That was a terrific song. You have a big future ahead of you.”

As an aspiring songwriter, Ava has recorded a number of original songs that span jazz, indie, and pop/rock. Steve Bogard, songwriter of ten number one country songs, recognized Ava’s songwriting ability when she was 11-years old at his songwriter’s camp and encouraged her to visit Nashville. Ava released “Toy Solder” in 2020, and “Move Along,” “Some Overdose,” and “Antifreeze” in 2023. Ava was interviewed and performed her original songs for two PBS programs: “Applause Performances” and “Songs at the Center” for their 10th season. A passionate consumer all types of musical genres and styles, she also loves to sing in French, Spanish and Portuguese. Ava draws inspiration from jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Cyrille Aimee and Astrud Gilberto along with pop singer/songwriters like Sara Bareilies and Alanis Morissette. 

Ava recently received her Master’s in Jazz Voice at The Juilliard School, studying under acclaimed jazz vocalists Carla Cook and Charenée Wade. While at Juilliard, she honed her composition and arranging skills with pianist Geoffrey Keezer and saxophonist Andy Farber. Her additional vocal mentors include La Tanya Hall, Jean Baylor, Kim Nazarian and and Emily Stauch. Ava has an active presence in both the Cleveland and New York music scenes.

Ava's artistic influences and inspiration are best explained in her own words. She writes: 

“I find people inspiring most of all. Listening to the vocal “greats” including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone and appreciating their strong voices, not only in their singing, but in equality for all, truly made jazz into a movement as much as a genre. More modern artists such as Sarah Bareilles, Nora Jones, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks, Eva Cassidy, Esperanza Spalding, Jean Baylor, Jazzmeia Horn, Somi, and Diana Krall stimulate my creative expression. 

I believe that music is a universal language that can unite people around the world. My platforms are dedicated to promoting unity and anti-bullying. My hope is to move society in a positive direction with my art. Although world peace is a nice thought, I believe it is an unrealistic absolute for a flawed human condition. My goal is to spread world tolerance and the acceptance of differences through my music.”