Vocals, Songwriter, Producer (b. 1945, Mumbai)

Born 4 February 1945 in Mumbai, Asha Puthli trained in Indian classical music and opera. She fell in love with jazz through Voice of America radio, performing at local clubs whilst hiding her face. Later winning a Martha Graham dance scholarship, she arrived in New York 1969, where legendary Columbia Records executive John Hammond discovered her through Ved Mehta's Jazz in Bombay. Hammond sent her to avant-garde saxophonist Ornette Coleman, making her first vocalist on Science Fiction (1972). She sang "What Reason Could I Give" and "All My Life", earning DownBeat Critics' Poll Best Female Jazz Vocalist alongside Ella Fitzgerald. Puthli signed to CBS Records, releasing Asha Puthli (1973, produced Del Newman), She Loves to Hear the Music (1974), The Devil is Loose (1976) and L'Indiana (1978).