|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| 6 Time Grammy Nominee Nnenna Freelon Headlines Pepperdine Six-time Grammy-nominated jazz singer Nnenna Freelon brings her passionate vocalese, textured arrangements, and brilliant energy to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 13. Consistently earning rave reviews from even the toughest of jazz critics, and with an ever-growing global fan base, Freelon has a well-deserved reputation as a compelling and captivating live performer. She has appeared and toured with a veritable who's who of jazz, from Ray Charles and Ellis Marsalis to Al Jarreau and George Benson, among others. One of Freelon's many career highlights was her participation in 2007's In Performance at the White House to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. At the 43rd annual Grammy Awards telecast from Los Angeles, she inspired an enthusiastic standing ovation from music-industry insiders and celebrities when she took the stage. Her other rousing successes include performances for Julie Andrews at the Society of Singers' Ella Awards, at Variety-The Children's Charity, at the Stephen Sondheim Tribute at Carnegie Hall, at the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, and at the most famous jazz festivals around the globe. In January 2008 Concord Records released two Freelon-centered recordings, the first titled Better Than Anything: The Quintessential Nnenna Freelon, to celebrate her ever-expanding appeal and artistry, and the second called Monterey Jazz Festival: 50th Anniversary All-Stars, featuring Freelon in spectacular duets and group performances with Terence Blanchard and James Moody. Freelon, a winner of the Billie Holiday Award from the prestigious Academie du Jazz, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for her 2005 album, Blueprint of a Lady: Sketches of Billie Holiday. On her fifth, and previous, Concord Records release, Live, Freelon brings all of her alluring talents to bear, resulting in a beguiling and intimate achievement. Recorded at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in February 2003, Live marks a decade-long recording career for Freelon as well as 20 years on the road. In addition to her five Grammy nominations while on the Concord label, she is also a winner of the Eubie Blake Award and has twice been nominated for the "Lady of Soul" Soul Train Award. Freelon also made her feature film debut in the Mel Gibson hit What Women Want and sang a remake of the Sinatra classic "Fly Me to the Moon" in The Visit, starring Billy Dee Williams. Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Freelon received her undergraduate degree from Simmons College in Boston. Her parents, and singing in church, gave the vocalist her first exposure to the arts-especially the art of jazz. Her father's playing Count Basie recordings and her mother's active involvement in their church led Freelon to an appreciation of all music. Besides being an accomplished singer, composer, producer, arranger, and a budding actress, Freelon has dedicated herself to educating young people, both musicians and non-musicians alike. She toured the United States for four years as the National Spokesperson for Partners in Education, and her composition "One Child at a Time, " found on her Soulcall recording, became that organization's anthem. It has also been used by countless other local, regional, and national groups, including the United Way. Her master classes and workshops, from "Sound Sculpture" (in which students experience and create sounds in new and imaginative ways) to the groundbreaking "Babysong" (Freelon believes that parents should sing to their babies as often as possible as a way of nurturing and stimulating brain development), are geared toward both adults and children. Freelon performs for Pepperdine's ARTSReach program, which offers free performances to around 10, 000 Los Angeles-area schoolchildren yearly, on Thursday, March 12. A devoted mother of three, Freelon is married to Phil Freelon, an award-winning architect. This concert is supported, in part, with funds provided by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |