Grace Kelly (musician)

Last updated

Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly (musician, 2015, cropped).jpg
Kelly in 2015
Background information
Birth nameGrace Chung
Born (1992-05-15) May 15, 1992 (age 32)
Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger, educator
Instrument(s)Saxophones (alto, soprano, baritone), vocals, Venova
Years active2004–present
LabelsPAZZ Productions
Website gracekellymusic.com

Grace Kelly (born Grace Chung; May 15, 1992) [1] is an American jazz musician, composer, and arranger. Kelly has produced and released recordings of her own, scored soundtracks, and tours with her band. She was named one of Glamour magazine's Top 10 College Women in 2011; [2] and she has been featured on CNN.com [3] and on the NPR radio shows Piano Jazz with both Marian McPartland and Jon Weber, as well as on WBGO's JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater . [4]

Contents

David Sanborn, Grace Kelly and Marcus Miller David Sanborn, Grace Kelly and Marcus Miller.JPG
David Sanborn, Grace Kelly and Marcus Miller

Working professionally since she was a preteen, Kelly was dubbed a prodigy in the jazz world. [3] [5] [6] [7] In 2014, Kelly worked with the producer Stewart Levine on her EP, Working for the Dreamers, which was released in September of that year. [8]

She was featured in the December 2015 issue of Vanity Fair as a significant millennial in the jazz world. [9] Kelly was named "Rising Star – Alto Saxophone" in DownBeat 's 2016 Critics Poll. [10] Her Trying to Figure It Out (2016 PAZZ) release was voted the number-two Jazz Album of the Year in the 2016 DownBeat readers' poll. [11]

Early life and education

Born Grace Chung in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to Korean parents, she moved to Brookline, Massachusetts, when she was 2 years old. She briefly played clarinet and classical piano before finding her voice on the saxophone. [12] Kelly stated, "Saxophone reminds me of the human voice. And I always felt this very compelling, this feeling, that someone was singing to me. The Girl from Ipanema was on repeat in my household when I was a little girl and thought: ‘I wanna learn this one day.’ It’s one of the instruments that’s closest to expressing the human voice.” [13] [12]

Her mother remarried in 1997 to Robert Kelly, who legally adopted Grace a few years later, thus changing her name to Grace Kelly. [1] Kelly wrote her first song "On My Way Home" at age seven. [14] Kelly counts it a major breakthrough in her career when singer/songwriter Fred Taylor approached her after she sat in with vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway at Sculler's. [15] He offered to book her first headlining show at a major jazz venue. [15]

Kelly left Brookline High School at age 16 and earned her GED. After studying in the Jazz Department of New England Conservatory of Music's School of Preparatory Education, she enrolled at Berklee College of Music, where she graduated in December 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in professional music at age 19. [16] Kelly studies or has studied saxophone with Jeremy Udden, James Merenda, [17] George Garzone, Lee Konitz, Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, and Allan Chase. [1]

Career

On March 15, 2005, when she was just 12, Kelly released her first CD, Dreaming. [18] While in the recording stages, Kelly met Ann Hampton Callaway, a jazz cabaret singer, who offered to write the liner notes to Kelly's first CD. [1] Grace won numerous ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards. Grace previously won the "Jazz Artist of the Year" for the third time at the 2016 Boston Music Awards' [19] she had won the same award in 2008 and 2010. She was voted alto saxophonist of the year by the 2016 NYC Jazz Fans Decision Award. [20]

Touring

In 2009, she played with the Foxboro High School Jazz Ensemble and Dave Brubeck for the "Let Freedom Swing/Celebration Of America" concert held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. [21]

In 2009, Kelly was selected by the Boston Celtics to play the national anthem at the TD Garden for preseason and play-off games. [22]

For the Kennedy Center's 15th Annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, in 2010, Kelly performed as part of an all-star quintet of Dee Dee Bridgewater, Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Esperanza Spalding for a set that celebrated the 100th anniversary of Mary Lou Williams's birth. [23]

In 2012, Kelly was selected to perform at the 30th Annual NEA Jazz Masters Ceremony with Phil Woods and Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. [24]

Collaborations

At 15, Kelly and NEA jazz master Lee Konitz recorded the album, GRACEfulLEE . The album gained a 4 1/2-star review from DownBeat. [25]

At 18, she released her sixth album, Man with the Hat , recorded as a collaboration with another NEA jazz master Phil Woods. [23] The title of the album honors Woods, who has had a signature leather cap as his trademark since 1976. [26] The title of the album also refers to when Woods invited Kelly, when she was 14 years old, on stage during one of his performances and presented her with his iconic leather cap as a gift after her solo on "I'll Remember April". [27]

In 2017, when she recorded Go Time: Brooklyn 2, Kelly had Leo Pellegrino as a guest. [28] On November 30, 2019, Pellegrino and Kelly announced the official formation of a new "group, a band... a collaboration" called 2SAXY, which would consist of a duet between Kelly on alto saxophone and Pellegrino on baritone saxophone. [29]

Charting

Kelly's 2013 single "Sweet Sweet Baby", recorded for the Woodward Avenue Records label, reached number 7 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Singles chart. [30] The track was also included on the label's 9 Mile Road compilation. [31]

Film and television

Kelly is a featured performer in the 2014 documentary Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story , co-produced by author Michael Connelly and directed by N.C. Heikin. [32] In the documentary, she performs "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as part of a tribute concert held in San Quentin State Prison, where Frank Morgan was incarcerated at different times in his life. [33] The documentary had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 14, 2014 [34] and was followed the next day by a tribute concert at the Grammy Museum, featuring Kelly, George Cables, Ron Carter, Mark Gross, and Roy McCurdy. [32] [35] The documentary was selected for multiple additional film festivals, including the 2014 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, [36] the 2014 Maine International Film Festival, [37] the 2014 Virginia Film Festival, [38] the 2014 Atlanta Film Festival, [39] the 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival, [40] and the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival. [41]

Kelly has performed many times with jazz musician Jon Batiste and his band Stay Human as the house band for the New York City-based late night television show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as well as at other New York City locations. [42] [43] [44]

Kelly released her tenth CD, Trying to Figure It Out, in 2016; it includes the track "Blues For Harry Bosch", a composition written for the Amazon.com produced television series Bosch . In the second season, episode 2, of the series, Kelly is featured, as herself, [45] performing "Blues For Harry Bosch" in a scene in front of main character Harry Bosch Titus Welliver and his Lieutenant Amy Aquino filmed at the Catalina Jazz Club. [46]

Kelly was Executive Producer and music composer of the 2017 short film The Bird Who Could Fly, directed by Raphael Sbarge, written by Robert Munic and Raphael Sbarge. The film won multiple awards in the "Asians on Film Festival of Shorts 2016 Fall Quarter". [47]

Charity work

In partnership with Berklee College of Music, Kelly established the Fred Taylor Scholarship Fund [48] by producing, emceeing, and performing at an all-star benefit concert [49] at the Berklee Performance Center on September 12, 2017, raising enough funds to establish an endowed scholarship fund. [50]

Discography

As leader

As sidewoman

With The Manhattan Transfer

With Terri Lyne Carrington

With Vance Gilbert

With Bill Bandfield's Jazz Urbane

With Bob Dorough

With Various Artists

Film credits

Music videos

List of music videos
SongDate released
"Sweet Sweet Baby"November 26, 2011
"Ready Set Stay"April 24, 2013
"Eggshells"June 25, 2013
"Working For The Dreamers"September 24, 2014
"Blues For Harry Bosch"March 22, 2016
"She's The First"November 1, 2016
"Worth It"June 29, 2017 [55]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizz Wright</span> American jazz and gospel singer (born 1980)

Elizabeth LaCharla Wright professionally known as Lizz Wright, is an American jazz and gospel singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrid Jensen</span> Canadian jazz trumpeter

Ingrid Jensen is a Canadian jazz trumpeter.

Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, and actor. He was the bandleader on The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–94).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raphael Sbarge</span> American actor

Raphael Sbarge is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on The Guardian (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on Once Upon a Time (2011–18) and Inspector David Molk on the TNT series Murder in the First (2014–16). He is also known for voicing Carth Onasi in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), RC-1262 / "Scorch" in Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005) and Kaidan Alenko in the Mass Effect trilogy (2007–12).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terri Lyne Carrington</span> American drummer (born 1965)

Terri Lyne Carrington is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and many others. She toured with each of Hancock's musical configurations between 1997 and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Morgan (musician)</span> American jazz saxophonist

Frank Morgan was a jazz saxophonist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He mainly played alto saxophone but also played soprano saxophone. He was known as a Charlie Parker successor who primarily played bebop and ballads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Sung</span> American jazz pianist

Helen Sung is an American jazz pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tia Fuller</span> American saxophonist, composer, and educator

Tia Fuller is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music. Fuller was a Featured Jazz Musician in Pixar's animated film Soul. For the film Fuller plays an alto saxophone with a Vandoren mouthpiece for the character Dorothea Williams. The appearance of Dorothea Williams is influenced by Fuller, and the character's speaking lines are voiced by Angela Bassett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motéma Music</span> American record label

Motéma Music is a jazz and world music record label in the United States. It was founded in 2003 in San Francisco Bay Area by label president and recording artist Jana Herzen. The label has received Grammy recognition more than 25 times for albums in jazz, Latin jazz, reggae, and R&B. Motema's roster includes Gregory Porter, Joey Alexander, Deva Mahal, Pedrito Martinez, Randy Weston, Geri Allen, David Murray, Monty Alexander, and Charnett Moffett, Donny McCaslin, Mark Guiliana, and Terri Lyne Carrington and many other respected artists in jazz, world and soul music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tineke Postma</span> Dutch jazz saxophonist

Tineke Postma is a Dutch jazz saxophonist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shea Rose</span> American singer-songwriter

Shea Rose is a singer-songwriter, performing artist, and music curator based in Boston, Massachusetts. She explores soul, rock, and hip hop while congruently inspiring her community to use the power of music for social change.

Gabrielle Goodman is an American jazz singer, composer, author, and associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music. She began working as a backup vocalist for Roberta Flack while at the Peabody Institute and later sang with Michael Bublé and Chaka Khan.

Mimi Jones is an American bassist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, education and founder of Hot Tone Music.

<i>Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story</i> 2014 American film

Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story is a 2014 documentary film directed by N.C. Heikin. The film focuses on Frank Morgan, a jazz saxophonist and the protégé of Charlie Parker. Funding for the film was partially raised through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda May Han Oh</span> Australian jazz bassist and composer (born 1984)

Linda May Han Oh is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. She is currently Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music and is also part of the Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice.

<i>Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue</i> 2013 studio album by Terri Lyne Carrington

Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue is an album by Terri Lyne Carrington. It was released by Concord Jazz. It won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

<i>Perfection</i> (album) 2016 studio album by David Murray, Geri Allen, and Terri Lyne Carrington

Perfection is an album by the Murray, Allen & Carrington Power Trio, featuring saxophonist David Murray, pianist Geri Allen, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. It was recorded at Avatar Studios in New York City in June 2015, and was released by Motéma Music in 2016. Guest musicians Wallace Roney (trumpet), Craig Harris (trombone), and Charnett Moffett (bass) appear on one track.

<i>Structure</i> (Terri Lyne Carrington, Jimmy Haslip, Greg Osby, and Adam Rogers album) 2004 album

Structure is an album by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington on which she is joined by guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and saxophonist Greg Osby. It was recorded at Castle Oaks Studio in Calabasas, California during November 2003, and was released in 2004 by the German label ACT Music.

<i>Jazz Is a Spirit</i> 2002 studio album by Terri Lyne Carrington

Jazz Is a Spirit is an album by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. It was recorded before an audience at Master Control Studio in Burbank, California during February 2001, and was released in 2002 by the German label ACT Music. On the album, Carrington is joined by saxophonists Gary Thomas and Katisse Buckingham, trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Wallace Roney, keyboardists Herbie Hancock and Greg Kurstin, guitarists Paul Bollenback, Kevin Eubanks, Jeff Richman, and Danny Robinson, bassists Bob Hurst and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and percussionists Ed Barguiarena and Darryl "Munyungo" Jackson.

<i>Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival</i> 2022 live album by Wayne Shorter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, Leo Genovese

Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival is a collaborative live album by Wayne Shorter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, and Leo Genovese. Candid released the album on 9 September 2022. It is also the final recording for Shorter prior to his death in 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Grace Kelly". Jazz at Lincoln Center. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ Struhl, Jessica (September 7, 2011). "Top Ten College Women: The Musician". Glamour . Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Leopold, Todd (February 12, 2012). "The making of a prodigy". CNN.com. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Grace Kelly on NPR". NPR.org.
  5. ↑ Was, David. "The New Grace Kelly, A Young Jazz Star". NPR.
  6. ↑ Williamson, Don. "GRACEfulLEE by Grace Kelly & Lee Konitz". Jazz Review.
  7. ↑ Fischer, Doug. "Grace Kelly in the NAC Fourth Stage (concert review by Doug Fischer)". Ottawa Citizen.
  8. ↑ Duckett, Richard. "Grace Kelly offers fresh take on jazz for a new generation". Worcester Telegram. Gatehouse Media. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  9. ↑ Friedwald, Will (November 9, 2015). "These Millennials Are Shaking Up the Jazz World". Vanity Fair . Condé Nast. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ Lutz, Phillip (August 2016). "Grace Kelly Jazz Is A Mixable Genre". Downbeat Magazine.
  11. ↑ "Jazz Album of the Year". DownBeat. Vol. 83, no. 12. December 2016. p. 38.
  12. 1 2 "Playin' Around with Playbook: Saxophonist + Educator Grace Kelly". www.thisisplaybook.com. October 4, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Playin' Around With Playbook: Saxophonist + Educator Grace Kelly". Playbook. October 4, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  14. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Grace Kelly". AllMusic.
  15. 1 2 Jeremy D. Goodwin (June 13, 2019). "Benefit show is a thank-you to Fred Taylor and all that jazz". Boston Globe . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  16. ↑ Goodwin, Jeremy. "Grace Kelly Is Figuring It Out On The Fly". WBUR.org. WBUR FM. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ "14-Year-Old Sax Prodigy Grace Kelly Set for Stardom". Sibelius. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Grace Kelly - Dreaming: product details". Amazon. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  19. ↑ "2016 Boston Music Awards".
  20. ↑ "2016 NYC Jazz Fans Decision Award".
  21. ↑ Beverelli, Luigi (January 22, 2009). "Jazz at Lincoln Center: Let Freedom Swing! A Celebration of America". wyntonmarsalis.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Grace Kelly performs National Anthem at Boston Celtics 2009 playoff game". Youtube.com. Grace Kelly Music.
  23. 1 2 Pulliam, Becca. "Mary Lou Williams Festival All-Star Quintet On JazzSet". NPR.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  24. ↑ "National Endowment for the Arts Celebrates 30th Anniversary of NEA Jazz Masters Program with Special Performances". arts.gov.
  25. ↑ "DownBeat Best CDs of The 2000s" (PDF). DownBeat Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  26. ↑ Koert, Hans. "Grace Kelly - Phil Woods - Man With The Hat". keepswinging.blogspot.com. Blogger. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  27. ↑ McClenaghan, Glenn (March 2007). "Grace Kelly: Every Road I Walked". allaboutjazz.com.
  28. ↑ "Premiere: Watch a Video from Grace Kelly's 'GO Time: Brooklyn'". May 17, 2018.
  29. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/weare2saxy/videos/500245000575858/ [ user-generated source ]
  30. 1 2 "Billboard Smooth Jazz Chart for 3/11 to 4/8/2013". Billboard . April 13, 2013.
  31. ↑ Black, Brent. "9 Mile Road. Woodward Ave. 2013". criticaljazz.com. Bop-N-Jazz. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  32. 1 2 Peck, Claude (December 4, 2013). "Bestseller Michael Connelly Making Frank Morgan Jazz Biopic". Star Tribune .
  33. ↑ Scherstul, Alan. "Sax Great Frank Morgan Soars and Scores in the Moving Musical Doc 'Sound of Redemption'". Village Voice . Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  34. ↑ Easterhouse, Jim (June 14, 2014). "'The Frank Morgan Story' sounds like a fine fit at L.A. Film Festival". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  35. ↑ "News About Sound of Redemption". TheFrankMorganProject.com. Retrieved January 7, 2016. Los Angeles Film Festival....June 14 – World Premiere Screening, 6:50pm, Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live...June 15 – Frank Morgan Tribute Concert at the Grammy Museum, 2-4pm
  36. ↑ "Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story". Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story". Maine International Film Festival. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story". Virginia Film Festival. October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story". Atlanta Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story". Palm Springs International Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story". Vancouver International Film Festival. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Grace Kelly @ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York, NY". Allevents.in. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  43. ↑ "[e]xcited to join Jon Batiste and Stay Human on Late night w Ste..." Facebook.com. December 7, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Jon Batiste and Stay Human with special guests Grace Kelly and Brandon Niederauer at Webster Hall NY". YouTube. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  45. ↑ The Thing About Secrets -- full cast at IMDb   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  46. ↑ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie. "Brookline sax player Grace Kelly ready for close-up". BostonGlobe.com. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Asians On Film Awards". asiansonfilm.com. December 22, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  48. ↑ "Join us". Fred Taylor scholarship fund . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  49. ↑ James Sullivan (September 8, 2017). "An all-star outpouring for Fred Taylor". Boston Globe . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  50. ↑ "Support the Fred Taylor Endowed Scholarship Fund". Berklee College . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  51. ↑ "Jazz Hits The Cinema: Saxophonist Grace Kelly On New Album 'With Strings: At The Movies,' Millennial Flicks & Social Media | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  52. ↑ Markos Papadatos (March 1, 2018). "The Manhattan Tr-ansfer discuss new jazz album 'The Junction' SPECIAL". Digital Journal. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  53. ↑ Kendall Deflin (April 22, 2019). "Vulfpeck Offshoot The Fearless Flyers Announce New Record, Release First Single". liveforlivemusic.com. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  54. ↑ The Bird Who Could Fly -- full cast at IMDb   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  55. ↑ "Worth It - Postmodern Jukebox Fifth Harmony Cover ft. Grace Kelly *NEW PMJ ALBUM". YouTube .
  56. ↑ Phillip Lutz (August 2016). "Grace Kelly: 'Jazz is a Mixable Genre'". Downbeat magazine . Retrieved June 26, 2019.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.