Jacqui Dankworth

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Jacqueline "Jacqui" Dankworth (born February 5, 1963 in Northampton , Northamptonshire , England ) is a British singer (mainly in jazz ).

Live and act

Jacqui Dankworth is the daughter of the singer Cleo Laine and the saxophonist and composer John Dankworth ; Early role models from her parents' extensive record collection were Ella Fitzgerald , Sarah Vaughan , Al Jarreau , Billie Holiday , but also singers like Carole King or Laura Nyro and singers like James Taylor .

Jacqui Dankworth began her professional career as an actress with the Royal Shakespeare Company , the National Theater and the theater group of John Dexter; she then switched to musicals and eventually began a career as a singer.

She first toured with her brother Alec Dankworth and performed in Hawaii, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Jacqui Dankworth then played in Stravinsky's " The Soldier's Tale" in the Purcell Room in London and worked with jazz composer and saxophonist Tim Garland on a cycle of songs - "Songs Of Love And Liberty," which included Norma Winstone and Christine Tobin participated. In early 1998 she went on tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra . During this time an album with jazz arrangements of poems by AE Housman was created with the New Perspectives Ensemble under the direction of John Williams ; the resulting Five Housman Settings and Other Jazz Works was "the pre-eminent British jazz release of 1996" for the Sunday Times .

In 1999 she performed arrangements of George Gershwin classics with the BBC Big Band in London and Birmingham . Then she worked with the formation “Field of Blue”, an acoustic band with which she mostly played her own compositions. She toured the UK and Europe with Field of Blue ; She also recorded two albums with the band, Field of Bue (1999) and Still , which was released in 2000.

In July 2000 she recorded the album For All We Know with pianist James Pearson ; she also worked on a tribute album and concert for singer Nick Drake . She also worked with the vocal ensemble The Passion , with the singers Liane Carroll and Sara Colman ( One Good Reason , 2002).

In 2003 the crossover album As the Sun Shines Down on Me was released on the record label Candid Records with a mixture of contemporary song material by Bob Dylan , James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder as well as jazz standards such as “You Must Believe in Spring” or Duke Ellingtons In a sentimental mood . Tours of jazz clubs and theaters in Great Britain and Ireland followed; She also appeared as a guest on Courtney Pine's album "Devotion" (2003) and performed with him at the Royal Festival Hall at the London Jazz Festival .

After that she had a guest appearance in the movie '' Shoreditch '' with the classic Billie Holiday number '' My Man '' as well as with the standard '' Body and Soul ''. In 2004 she recorded the album Detour Ahead ; In 2007 she opened the Nuremberg Voices Catch Festival . In 2008 she performed three nights with new song material at Ronnie Scott 's Club in Soho . Dankworth was also a guest soloist on recordings by Michael Garrick ( For Love Of Duke ... and Ronnie ... , 1995/96), Gerard Presencer , George Melly ( The Ultimate Melly , 2005).

The authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton pondered in 2006 why Jacqui Dankworth is not better known and especially highlight their achievements on the album Detour Ahead , which they gave the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings with the highest rating; the album - with Paul Simon's "Train in the Distance" among others - established her among the front row of British jazz singers.

Discographic notes

  • Five Houseman Settings (Spotlite, 1996)
  • Field of Blue (1999)
  • Still (Black Box Records, 2000)
  • For All We Know (Black Box, 2001) with James Pearson
  • As the Sun Shines Down on Me (Candid, 2002) with Alec and John Dankworth
  • Detour Ahead (Candid, 2004) with Alec and John Dankworth
  • It Happens Quietly (2011) with Karen Sharp , Tim Garland , Jimmy Hastings

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personal data
SURNAME Dankworth, Jacqui
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dankworth, Jacqueline
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British singer
DATE OF BIRTH 5th February 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Northampton , Northamptonshire , England