By Noma Faingold

Singer/songwriter Destani Wolf does not sound like anyone else, and that suits her just fine.

The vocals of the 45-year-old resident of Kensington (just north of Berkeley) are as smooth as charmeuse, confidently improvisational and seemingly effortless, although her perfectionism leads to a lot of tinkering with songs before Wolf is willing to put them out into the world.

Wolf’s voice is clear and powerful, yet her runs are refreshingly understated. You will not hear her scream.

Her music can’t be defined by genre. It’s a blend of soul, blues, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, exotic jazz, with a few brush strokes of new age. Wolf refers to her style as “Cali-soul,” influenced by a diverse Berkeley environment and being exposed to what her parents were listening to, such as Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and other blues artists and Mexican ranchera performers.

“Growing up in the Bay Area, I was surrounded by such an eclectic community,” Wolf said. “When I think about what it is that I do, I create a space for people to be in community, to feel joy and connect. Even when we’re grieving, we can find hope in what we do together. It’s about opening up the heart. That’s how I express my music. That’s a big part of who I am.”

Wolf said she is looking forward to opening for Patti Labelle on Aug. 9 at the Stern Grove Festival. Her six-piece band is led by bass player Eric “Pik Funk” Smith, who, like Wolf, is a graduate of Berkeley High. Smith has quite the resume, having been musical director on a few Janet Jackson tours, as well as being on the road with Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Jill Scott.

“I love singing in open spaces. I love singing with trees, the birds and 10,000 people,” Wolf said. “There’s such great energy there.”

In her more than 25 years as an artist, she has played a part in more than 40 albums, including several solo recordings. She has toured all over the world, including as lead vocalist with the Cirque du Soleil show, “BAZZAR,” which took her to Southeast Asia and India in 2018-19 (performing eight to 10 shows a week).

Some of the artists she has worked with include the Afro-Latin hip-hop group O-Maya, as lead vocalist. Another group, Oakland-based Slammin All-Body Band, is a mix of a cappella singing, beatboxing and body music. She has collaborated with internationally known Latin percussionist John Santos on a Grammy-nominated album. She considers him a mentor.

Another mentor (and friend) is San Francisco’s Bobby McFerrin, 10-time Grammy winner and acappella innovator, best known for the giant 1988 hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” In 2023, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award,

Wolf has performed with McFerrin’s improvisational acappella ensemble, SoVoSó, a mix of jazz, gospel, world and R&B music, performing at local venues Yoshi’s and SFJazz, as well as across the country and internationally.

For the last four-plus years, Wolf has been a member of McFerrin’s Motion, an improvisational “Circlesongs” acappella group, designed to involve the audience. Every Monday, at noon, at the Freight & Salvage performance space in Berkeley, those in attendance are invited to participate in wordless singing.

“For me, the message is we all have our own unique voices and that we should sing for ourselves. We need to give ourselves permission to sing because a lot of people have been told not to sing, to leave it to somebody else. Who are they to stop us from using this thing that is uniquely ours?”

Motion sessions are about creating in the moment. “To be able to have that ability to share and be so present is very gratifying,” she said.

Wolf told her mother at age two that she wanted to be a singer.

“I didn’t know if I was good, but I knew it felt good,” Wolf said. Her parents encouraged her artistic pursuits. Wolf remembers a childhood of entertaining friends of the family. In the eighth grade, she experienced a pivotal performance.

“I could feel the audience just taking in what I was doing,” she said.

Wolf said her passion is to help people heal and offer hope.

“That’s so important to me.” she said. “Throughout time, I have seen how my music touches people in different places in the world. I just want to be in service to the music. It’s about connection in my community, the people in the room and a way for us to feel deeper emotions together.”

She had no inclination in seeking pop stardom, even while she spent 12 years in Los Angeles with her husband. She enjoyed being a session singer, touring and collaborating with such artists as singer/rapper Matisyahu, John Cale (founding member of the Velvet Underground) and in-demand songwriter/producer Kool Kojak (stylized as “KoOoLkOjAk”), who has written and produced such artists as Ke$ha, Kim Petras and Doja Cat.

“Once I found my people, it was amazing and magical,” Wolf said. “There’s just a different type of focus there, which is recorded music and touring. I did a lot of my own recordings as well.”

In 2006, Wolf released her first album, called “Again and Again,” a fusion of funk, soul, Latin, reggae and hip-hop with an uplifting message. All through her career, she has continued to spread what she refers to as “radical joy” through her music. It’s a spiritual thing. “Music travels through me. I just want to be in service to the music,” she said.

Wolf, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in music at San Francisco State University, is a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is raising two teenage boys with her husband of 21 years, in addition to all her musical endeavors, including creating tracks for meditation.

She plans on releasing a new album in the fall. Her latest single is titled, “If I Could Wait,” a classically soulful song. “It’s about our ability to love and receive love and how important that is,” Wolf said. “It’s also about the abundance of love that we have inside to offer. The songs that I have coming are about relationships. They’re about connection. They’re about shining our own light and being as bright as we can. That’s how we elevate as a society,” Wolf said.

Find more information at Destani Wolf @destaniwolfofficial on Instagram.