Yolande Bavan

Yolande Bavan is a Sri Lankan singer and actress born on June 1, 1942, in Colombo, Ceylon. Her career has spanned jazz performance, recording, film, and Broadway, establishing her as a versatile presence across multiple disciplines.

Bavan began her performing career touring Australia and Asia with Graeme Bell's band. Her profile rose significantly in 1962 when she stepped in to replace Annie Ross in the celebrated jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, after Ross departed due to illness. Under the revised name Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, the group recorded three albums, all of them live recordings. The trio dissolved in 1964 when both Bavan and Dave Lambert left the group. During her time with the ensemble, she appeared on the television program To Tell the Truth in 1962, on which the group performed "This Could Be the Start of Something."

Her recording work extended beyond the trio. In 1969, she collaborated with Peter Ivers on an album for Epic Records titled Knight of the Blue Communion. Three years later, she contributed vocals to Weather Report's 1972 album I Sing the Body Electric. Her recorded appearances in musical theater productions include Salvation and Snow White and the Seven Dwarls, both from 1969, as well as Michael John LaChiusa's Bernarda Alba in 2006.

On Broadway, Bavan performed between 1972 and 2004, with credits that include Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the musical Heathen!, and Bombay Dreams. Her film work includes Parting Glances in 1986, One True Thing in 1998, and Cosmopolitan in 2003.