An ebullient vocalist, Deborah Silver is known for her soulful but polished readings of classic jazz and pop melodies. She initially garnered attention with her 2014 debut, Pure Silver, before topping the Traditional Jazz Albums chart with 2016's The Gold Standards. Born and raised in Indianola, Mississippi, Silver grew to appreciate all kinds of music in her youth, including pop, rock, jazz, standards, R&B, and country. Her mother was an opera singer who also worked as a vocal coach on the side. While Silver sang in choir when she was in high school, she struggled with shyness and tried to remain inconspicuous when she performed. After enrolling at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, she developed greater confidence and went on to appear in student theater productions, where her passion for singing took hold. She began taking voice lessons, and after graduating, relocated to Los Angeles. There, she continued her studies working with noted vocal coach Seth Riggs. In time, Silver moved to South Florida, married, and raised a family. Silver still found time to perform as a jazz vocalist, and an effort to support a member of her family also helped her reach a new and larger audience. In 2009, Silver's sister was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a progressive neurodegenerative condition also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease." As Silver spearheaded a number of projects to increase awareness of ALS and raise money for research, she put her own talent to good use. Silver's debut album, 2014's Pure Silver, was a collection of standards and pop favorites that showed off her refined vocal stylings, and she pledged that 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of the CD would be donated to ALS research. The album was well reviewed, and Silver developed a growing and appreciative audience on the cabaret circuit. For her second album, 2016's The Gold Standards, Silver worked with producers Steve Tyrell and Jon Allen, and arranger Alan Broadbent. Grammy-winning singer Jack Jones and celebrated jazz chanteuse Ann Hampton Callaway also made guest appearances on the record, and Silver donated all proceeds from first-day sales to ALS charities. The Gold Standards debuted in the number one spot on the Traditional Jazz Albums and Heatseekers Albums charts, while hitting the number two spot on the overall Jazz Albums survey and 150 on the overall Top 200 listings. Two years later, she joined vocalist Freddy Cole for a duet on his legendary brother's song "Orange Colored Sky," which was released as a stand-alone tribute track. Silver then returned to her solo work with 2020's Glitter & Grits, a jazz and country-steeped collaboration with Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson. ~ Mark Deming
