Namely Freelon
Chinyere Nnenna Freelon (born July 28, 1954 in Cambridge , Massachusetts ) is an American jazz singer .
Live and act
After graduating from Simmons College in Boston, Freelon worked in the administration of a hospital in Durham, North Carolina and raised three children. She also appeared as a singer in local clubs and occasionally went on short tours. Ellis Marsalis discovered the singer in 1990 while performing in Atlanta . She quickly made a career, released a first album and went on a world tour with the Philip Morris Superband in 1992 .
The singer has also worked with Herbie Hancock , Billy Taylor , Yusef Lateef , Toshiko Akiyoshi , Dianne Reeves , Ray Charles , Al Jarreau and TS Monk . In 2001 the singer performed with Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross . She has given concerts at Carnegie Hall , the Hollywood Bowl , the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival , among others .
As an actress, she starred in the 2000 film What Women Want alongside Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt , where she also interpreted the song " If I Had You ". She continues to be the spokesperson for the National Association of Partners in Education .
Prizes and awards
Freelon's albums and song interpretations have been nominated six times for a Grammy so far (2010) . She was awarded the Billie Holiday Prize from the French Académie du Jazz and the American Eubie Blake Award .
Discographic 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)
- Soulcall (Concord, 2000)
- Live at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC (Concord, 2003)
- Better than Anything (Concord, 2007)
Lexigraphic entries
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
Web links
- Nnenna Freelon at Discogs (English)
- Biography at AllAboutJazz
- Web presence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Freelon, Nnenna |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Freelon, Chinyere Nnenna |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 28, 1954 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cambridge , Massachusetts , United States |