Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Awards. She was given an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 1989. Critic Scott Yanow wrote that she had "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century".
Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. Her piano playing was strongly influenced by baroque and classical music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice.
Renée Lynn Fleming is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and has won five times. In June 2023, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced that Fleming would be one of the five artists recognized at the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors, which she received in December 2023. Other notable honors won by Fleming have included the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur from the French government, Germany's Cross of the Order of Merit, Sweden's Polar Music Prize and honorary membership in England's Royal Academy of Music. Unusual among artists whose careers began in opera, Fleming has achieved name recognition beyond the classical music world. In May, 2023, Fleming was appointed by the World Health Organization as a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health. On April 9, 2024, Penguin Random House published Fleming's anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, a collection of essays about the health benefits of music and the arts, by scientists from leading research institutions, practitioners, educators, arts leaders, musicians, artists and writers.
Beth Gibbons is an English singer-songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, who have released three albums. She released an album with fellow English musician Rustin Man, Out of Season, in 2002, and a recording of contemporary Polish composer Górecki's Symphony No. 3 in 2019 with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, she released her first solo album without collaboration, Lives Outgrown. The album received critical acclaim and was nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize.
Dianne Elizabeth Reeves is an American jazz singer.
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour.
Live at Ronnie Scott's is an album by American singer-songwriter Nina Simone. It is a live recording of a concert she gave at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 1984, a London venue where she performed a few times in her later life.
Kim Rene Nalley is an American jazz and blues singer with a 3½ octave range.
Ledisi Anibade Young, better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.
"Trouble in Mind" is a vaudeville blues-style song written by jazz pianist Richard M. Jones. Singer Thelma La Vizzo with Jones on piano first recorded it in 1924 and in 1926, Bertha "Chippie" Hill popularized the tune with her recording with Jones and trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The song became an early blues standard, with numerous renditions by a variety of musicians in a variety of styles.
Lost & Found is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Ledisi. It was released on August 28, 2007, by Verve Records.
Emily Jordan Bear is an American composer, pianist, songwriter and singer. After beginning to play the piano and compose music as a small child, Bear made her professional piano debut at the Ravinia Festival at the age of five, the youngest performer ever to play there. She gained wider notice from a series of appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show beginning at the age of six. She has since played her own compositions and other works with orchestras and ensembles in North America, Europe and Asia, including appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Montreux Jazz Festival and Jazz Open Stuttgart. She won two Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, the youngest person ever to win the award, and also won two Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Awards.
Nina Arkadyevna Shatskaya is a Russian singer and actress, best known for her jazzy take on the Russian romance heritage. Staying out of the spotlight, Shatskaya is held in high regard by critics and colleagues. According to composer Nikita Bogoslovsky, "Next to our pop 'legends' she is a true queen: lonely and untouchable." Shatskaya released seven well-received albums and was designated a Meritorious Artist of Russia in 2004.
American singer-songwriter Ledisi has released eleven studio albums, three live albums, one soundtrack album, one extended play, and thirty-eight singles, including three as a featured artist.
Let Love Rule is the eighth studio album by American musician Ledisi. It was released in September 2017 under Verve Records. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 60th Grammy Awards in January 2018.
Josephine James is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and recording artist. James is best known for her performances on Burt Bacharach’s world tours, such as her feature song “Anyone Who Had a Heart". James is also the lead vocalist of George Duke, the band. James' co-wrote her solo albums Candles, Songcity, Hit Factory, and That Jazz with producer Nigel Martinez. James and Martinez also collaborated to release several UK singles: "Dance You Up," "Call Me ," "Now or Never," and "It's Up To Me." Her performance on "Street Life" from the album Royal Jam with The Crusaders, B.B. King, and The London Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded live at Royal Festival Hall, was nominated for a Grammy.
Gregg Field is an American record producer and musician, who has worked with many well-known artists. He is a recipient of multiple Grammy and Emmy awards.
Ledisi Sings Nina is the tenth studio album by American singer Ledisi. The album was released on July 23, 2021, by her record label Listen Back Entertainment and distributed by BMG Rights Management. The album was recorded in collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. Ledisi Sings Nina is a tribute album to American singer-songwriter and civil rights activist Nina Simone. The album was nominated for Outstanding Jazz Vocal Album at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue was the first concert residency by American singer Ledisi. It was held for three consecutive nights in December 2019. The residency was held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California. Ledisi performed a set list consisting of her songs as well as songs written or performed by Nina Simone, backed by her own band to an audience of 500. The concept of the shows revolves around impact Ledisi's mother Nyra Young and American singer Nina Simone had on Ledisi's life and career. The show also featured a tribute to other influential figures, including Philandro Castile, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, and Michael Jackson.
"Pieces of Me" is a song by American singer and songwriter Ledisi for her sixth studio album, Pieces of Me (2011). The song was written by Ledisi, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, with the latter two producing the song. The song's lyrics are about the meaning of being a woman.
