Becca Wilkins is a London-based vocalist, improviser and educator whose work explores the space between tradition and reinvention. Rooted in jazz and shaped by a deep connection to language, storytelling and ensemble interaction, her music blends classic forms with bold improvisation, emotional nuance and lyrical clarity.
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Originally from the South East of England, Wilkins began her musical journey during her undergraduate studies in Birmingham, where jazz gradually shifted from a side interest to a central passion. Her time there offered a rare combination of academic study with an injection of conservatoire training, laying the foundation for a life in music.
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Relocating to London after graduating, she spent several formative years building a career across performance, education and creative collaboration — learning, in her words, “on the job.” This period culminated in a Master’s in Jazz Voice at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (2022–23), where she was awarded a Concert Recital Diploma for her final performance. The experience consolidated years of professional experience into a more defined artistic identity, and marked a pivotal step into the next phase of her career.
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As a performer, Wilkins moves fluently between genres and formats. She has appeared at venues including The Vortex, Saffron Hall, Symphony Hall Birmingham and Crazy Coqs, and performed internationally in Greece (Tinos Jazz Festival), the Netherlands and Dubai. Whether interpreting repertoire or co-creating new work, her voice is defined by warmth, precision, and a natural instinct for narrative.
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A longstanding collaborator of award-winning composer Olivia Murphy, Wilkins has contributed to projects in trio (Moonrise), large ensemble (Olivia Murphy Jazz Orchestra), and conceptual suite formats. She featured on the albums Afterglow of a Dream Suite, Paper-Shaped People, and Somewhere, Not So Far Away, with performances at Cheltenham Jazz Festival and other major stages. The ensemble returns to the studio in 2025 to record a new suite of music.
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Her debut solo project Rêverie (May 2025) reimagines French Chanson through the lens of contemporary jazz — transforming works by Piaf, Montand, Trenet and Brel into fresh quartet arrangements. A long-time Francophile, Wilkins lived in Normandy before university and studied French alongside music. This album marks a return to that early connection, combining nostalgia and reinvention in equal measure. Arranged by Wilkins and recorded with her trio (Olly Chalk, Sam Ingvorsen, Billy Pod), the album reflects her taste for expressive interplay and understated risk. "People were connecting with the music even if they didn’t speak French," she says. "It reminded me that storytelling in music transcends language."
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Alongside her performance work, Wilkins is an experienced educator and vocal coach, driven by a deep interest in vocal health, harmony, and the “nerdy” side of music theory. This passion continues to shape both her sound and her teaching — including her work at Leeds Conservatoire, where she is senior lecturer in jazz voice, and through vocal workshops across the UK and abroad. Influenced by her time with Pete Churchill’s London Vocal Project, she approaches teaching as a two-way process — one that feeds and deepens her own practice as an artist.
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Whether leading her own ensemble or contributing to the work of others, Wilkins brings a grounded, expressive voice — one shaped by discipline, curiosity, and a lifelong commitment to musical storytelling.

“elegant and thoughtful”
~ Jazzwise

“the singer ventures beyond confessional into the mystic more like lucid dreaming’”
~ The Daily Jazz Blog
 
“Murphy's long-time collaborator Wilkins has something of [Brigitte] Beraha's other worldliness”
   ~ Jazzwise