Nnenna Freelon
Chinyere Nnenna Freelon ( born July 28, 1954 in Cambridge ( Massachusetts)) is an American jazz singer.
Life and work
Freelon Following her studies at Simmons College in Boston in the management of a hospital in Durham ( North Carolina) and pulled three children. In addition, she appeared as a singer on in local clubs and occasionally went on short tours. Ellis Marsalis discovered in 1990 the singer at a gig in Atlanta. She was now rapidly career, put a first album ago and went back in 1992 with the Philip Morris Super band on a world tour.
The singer also worked with Herbie Hancock, Billy Taylor, Yusef Lateef, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Dianne Reeves, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau and TS Monk. 2001 joined the singer on along with Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. She has performed, among others, at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
As an actress, she starred in the 2000 film shot What women want next to Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, where they also interpreted the song " If I Had You ". She is also the spokeswoman for the National Association of Partners in Education.
Prizes and awards
Freelons albums and song interpretations to date (2010 ) was nominated six times for a Grammy. She was honored with the Billie Holiday Award by the French Académie du Jazz and the American Eubie Blake Award.
Disco Graphical Notes
- Nnenna Freelon (Columbia, 1992)
- Heritage (Columbia, 1993), with Kenny Barron, Christian McBride and Lewis Nash
- Shaking Free ( Concord Jazz, 1996)
- Maiden Voyage ( Concord, 1998)
- Soul Call ( Concord, 2000)
- Better than Anything ( Concord, 2007)
Lexigraphic entries
- Martin Kunzler, Jazz Encyclopedia Vol 1 Reinbek 2002; ISBN 3-499-16512-0