Singapore jazz singer Marina Xavier brought colour and spirit to the stage

Homegrown jazz singer Marina Xavier died of stomach cancer at Singapore General Hospital on Nov 6. She was 68.

- Eddino Abdul Hadi Music Correspondent

Singapore singer Marina Xavier started singing in local clubs and was later based in Paris. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARINA XAVIER

(COURTESY OF MARINA XAVIER)

Her niece, local singer Karen Xavier, tells The Straits Times that the cancer was in remission for a little over a year, but returned in 2024.

Says Karen, 55: “She fought a brave fight and remained true to herself until the very end. She was a remarkable talent and a one-of-a-kind personality — bold, expressive and never afraid to live life her own way. She brought colour and spirit to every stage she walked onto.”

Born in Singapore to a Dutch-Portuguese mother and Burmese-Indian father, Marina Xavier first made her name singing in local clubs like the now-defunct Carriage Bar in York Hotel in the early 1980s.

In 1989, she moved to Paris to sing in clubs there, and spent the next two decades shuttling between Singapore and the French capital. She also performed across Europe, South America and Asia.