Dominique Bianco is a DC-based Italian-American jazz vocalist who adds her own distinctive touch to jazz standards, with awe-inspiring improvisational skills, and unique melodic original compositions. (Check out her new single “Heartstrings” with Fulton Lee.)

 

At age 21, she released her debut record I’m All Smiles, which features Benny Benack III & Elijah Jamal Balbed. She was the first-place runner-up in the 2023 Billie Holiday Vocal Competition, a top 3 finalist in the 2022 International Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Competition, and was a 2023 Strathmore Artist in Residence. She has shared the stage with many renowned jazz musicians, including Julius Rodriguez, Joe Farnsworth, Mark Whitfield, Peter Washington, Clarence Ward III, and others.

 

Dominique: As an Italian American, it was only right for us to be consistently playing vocal jazz — not only in the house but also whenever I would travel in the car with my parents and grandparents. Dean Martin, Ella, and Frank Sinatra were the standard. My father, who sings and plays guitar, would also play songs from the Doobie Brothers, “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, and classics like “At Last” by Etta James. His musical palette was diverse, and he played the hits and performed in restaurants while I was growing up.

What was your journey to music — were you classically trained? From a family of musicians? Self-taught?

As a vocalist, I started lessons with my father and had several vocal coaches growing up. From classical to musical theatre to jazz and cabaret, I’ve learned a lot of different techniques and combined them to create my vocal chops and approach different styles and songs differently.

As a guitarist, I’ve only been playing for a little over a year. I’ve been mostly self-taught, with training and guidance from my boyfriend, who currently holds a bachelor’s and master’s in jazz guitar.

What is the first song you wrote that you were proud of, and why?

I wrote a song called “Unsure and Unclear” while in college, and it was a gut-wrenching ballad about feeling unseen in a relationship. When I wrote it, I was still in that relationship, and it exposed a lot of truths to me. Especially as someone who is usually very goofy and lighthearted, the song carried a lot of weight and brought some harsh realities to the surface. I find that a lot of my songs do that, and more recently, I’ve been able to show a softer side in my writing.

What is your writing process like — do you write lyrics first, or music? Do you compose on a particular instrument? Do you need to write in a particular space or do song ideas come to you at random times?

I usually start with a concept — something that inspires me out in the world, in a book, movie, or podcast. Someone could say a quote or interesting phrase, and it’ll jump out at me, and in my mind, I’ll think, “I should write a song about that.” From there, I’ll usually write the melody of a hook or pre-chorus and then find the chords, doing the same for the verses. Over time, I’ll play the tune and adjust the arrangement depending on what works best.

Share a musical adventure from this summer with us — could be a show you played, a tour you took, a recording you made, a concert you attended, etc. Tell us about an experience that really stood out for you.

This summer, I had a stroke of luck and stumbled across a creator, Fulton Lee, who often finds singers in local parks. He just so happened to be in Northern VA. Singers sit down at a table that has a sign saying, “Sit here if you can sing,” and so I did. I ended up winning a collaboration with him after he was blown away by the fact that I could scat sing.

I remember that day — I was walking around the park and saw a handful of people sit down with him just before I walked by. I was really curious as to what it was. Afterward, I was told he picked me for the song he created, and the final track for streaming was actually from the take we did in the park. He posted the collaboration, and it got over 1.6 million views on Instagram and TikTok. I gained over 10k Instagram followers, 4k on TikTok, and a couple of hundred on my YouTube. I’ve been doing social media for most of my career and had never received this kind of sudden positive feedback. It was overwhelming, and I’m truly grateful for all the new people supporting my journey.