Carole Alston

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Carole Alston (born August 31, 1957 in Washington, DC ) is an American jazz singer and actress . She lives in Vienna , Austria .

Life

The daughter of a Baptist preacher came into contact with the music of the African American churches at an early age and soon developed her love for gospels , spirituals and jubilees . During high school, she sang the Motown hits of that time with various bands, but also devoted herself to sports and made it to the state champion of Maryland in the hurdles .

In addition to her admiration for the singing of Aretha Franklin , she soon aroused enthusiasm and fascination for the singer Sarah Vaughan , who like her love for gospel music continues to this day.

Career

She studied acting , dance and singing at Howard University College of Fine Arts and was hired to Europe immediately after graduating. An engagement at the Stadttheater Bern was followed by engagements and tours to Zurich ( Opera House ), Cologne ( Theater am Dom ), Karlsruhe ( State Theater ), Kaiserslautern ( Pfalztheater ), Berlin ( Theater des Westens ), Prague (with Leonard Bernstein's Mass at Prague Castle under the musical direction of Caspar Richter ), Paris , Graz , Linz ( Brucknerhaus ) and Vienna ( Volksoper ).

She successfully embodied numerous leading roles in musicals such as Kate in Kiss Me, Kate , Maria Magdalena in Jesus Christ Superstar , Aldonza in The Man of La Mancha or Anita in West Side Story . In addition, she also worked as an actress in spoken theater (inter alia at the side of Karl Schönböck or Karin Dor ) or as a singer in TV shows (inter alia with Jose Carreras ).

With her voice spanning almost four octaves, she has also sung classical and contemporary music (for example Cocaine Lil and Venal Vera by Nancy van de Vate). In 2005 and 2006 she performed her own play Tribute To A Blue Lady about the life of Billie Holiday at Joe Zawinul's Birdland and Vienna's English Theater .

As a jazz singer, she has performed at the Salzburg Jazzherbst , Jazzland and Joe Zawinuls Birdland in Vienna and most recently in Prague, Paris, Warsaw, Istanbul and in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein together with the Wiener Singverein (under Johannes Prinz ). She worked with Richard Oesterreicher , Michael Starch, Andi Weiss, Aaron Wonesch , Erwin Schmidt , Herbert Pichler, Heribert Kohlich, Christian Havel, Hans Strasser , Harald Putz, Uli Langthaler, Heinz von Hermann , Thomas Huber, Martin Fuss, Thomas, among others Kugi, Joris Dudli and Walter Grassmann together.

Quotes about Carole Alston

"A voice as dark and sweet as molasses." (Financial Times, 2004)

"Charismatic as all hell, Alston can belt like a red hot mamma or lend layers of meaning to` Lover Man´ with her smoky, sensual tone. " (Variety 2006)

Discography

  • 2004 - tradition (Gospels, Spirituals & Jubilees)
  • 2006 - Tribute To a Blue Lady (soundtrack to the piece, from Travellin All Alone to Strange Fruit )
  • 2007 - For My Sisters (with Erwin Schmidt, Christian Havel, Hans Strasser, Walter Grassmann)
  • 2009 - In the Fold (Gospels, Spirituals & Hymns in a jazzy way), with Uli Datler, Erwin Schmidt, Silvia Radobersky, Uli Langthaler, Andy Weiss, Ingrid Diem, Karin Bachner , Lynn Kieran, Kim Cooper, Eddie Cole
  • 2011 - Nostalgically Yours - Two of a Kind , with Elly Wright , Erwin Schmidt, Christian Havel, Joschi Schneeberger , Andi Weiss

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Alston, Carole
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz singer and actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC , United States