Norma Winstone
Norma Winstone (born September 23, 1941 in London ) is a British jazz singer and teacher. She is considered the "grande dame" of European jazz singing.
Life and work
She studied piano and organ for three years as a scholarship holder at Trinity College of Music in London . In 1965 she began to sing with jazz groups. In 1966 she met Michael Garrick in the New Jazz Orchestra , in whose group she also worked. She first caused a sensation with the critics in 1968 in Ronnie Scott 's Club, where she appeared with Rahsaan Roland Kirk . She has worked for Neil Ardley , Michael Gibbs , Ian Carrs Nucleus and John Dankworth .
In 1971 she was named best jazz singer by Melody Maker , which led to the fact that she was able to record her first album under her own name, "Edge of Time" (among others, together with John Surman , Alan Skidmore , Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor , whom she Married in 1972). She then belonged to the Mike Westbrook Band for several years . In 1977 she founded the group Azimuth with John Taylor and the trumpeter Kenny Wheeler , which the London Times described as the most imaginative and interesting chamber jazz band in the world. In the 1980s she was a member of the vocal quartet Vocal Summit (with Jay Clayton , Urszula Dudziak and Michele Hendricks ). In the early 1990s she wrote texts for compositions by Steve Swallow .
Her voice is an important part of Wheeler's "Music for Large and Small Ensembles", which was recorded with the participation of John Abercrombie , Dave Holland , Peter Erskine and John Taylor. It also has performances of works by Fred Hersch , John Surman and Jimmy Rowles contributed and repeatedly with the NDR - Big Band concerts (most recently in a project with Colin Towns , who participated in his own productions).
Beyond jazz, Winstone made a name for herself as an interpreter of the cabaret songs by the English composer Benjamin Britten and through her work for the Netherlands Opera . She is a virtuoso and versatile singer who masters large intervals and improvises just as fluently as any instrument. She works as a jazz teacher at the Royal Academy of Music .
In 2001 she won the title "Best Vocalist" at the BBC Jazz Award. For 2009 she was awarded the Jazzahead Skoda Award 2009 . Her album Distances , recorded in 2007 with Glauco Venier and Klaus Gesing , was nominated for a Grammy in 2009.
Discography (selection)
- Edge of Time (1972)
- Live at Roccella Jonica (1984)
- Somewhere Called Home (1986)
- Songs & Lullabies (2002)
- Distances (2008)
- Stories Yet to Tell (2010)
- Here's a Song for You (2011), with Mike Gibbs , Reiner Winterschladen , Christof Lauer & NDR Bigband
- Dance Without Answer (2014)
- Descansado: Songs for Films (ECM, 2018)
Web links
- Norma Winstone's website
- Norma Winstone at Allmusic (English)
- Norma Winstone at Discogs (English)
supporting documents
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.allmyjazz.de/forum/allmyjazz/showthread.php?tid=65 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Winstone, Norma |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz singer and jazz teacher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 23, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |