Valerie Ghent

Last updated

Valerie Ghent
Born (1964-05-02) May 2, 1964 (age 60)
New York City, United States
Genres Soul, R&B, blues, jazz, rock, pop, chanson
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, record producer, audio engineer
Instrument(s)Piano, keyboards, voice
Years active1980–present
Website www.valerieghent.com

Valerie Ghent (born May 2, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and recording engineer from New York City. She began by playing the piano at age three and started taking cello lessons at the age of five before beginning to write songs when she was eight years old. Ghent later began her performing career when she joined Dizzy and the Romilars at the age of 15. [1]

Contents

Biography

Ghent is a longtime keyboardist, vocalist and engineer with Ashford & Simpson. As a solo artist, Ghent has released five albums under her own name: Unstoppable (1996), Day to Day Dream (2012), Muse (2014), Velours (2016), and The French Sessions (2017), and a remake of the Ben E. King hit Supernatural Thing (2013). Her first solo album, Unstoppable, was self-recorded with Jimmy Biondolillo employed as co-producer. [2] In 2012 the single "Love Enough For a Lifetime" from Day to Day Dream hit No. 1 on iHeart Radio. [3] Velours, which features 11 original songs written by Ghent, was recorded in the South of France and in New York., [4] [5] SoulTracks named Velours one of the Top 50 Albums of 2016. [6]

Ghent has toured, performed and recorded with world-renowned artists including Ashford & Simpson, Debbie Harry, Grayson Hugh, Defunkt, [7] Valerie Simpson, Dr. Maya Angelou, Billy Preston, TM Stevens, and has worked as a recording engineer with Ashford & Simpson, Sir Cliff Richard, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, and Luther Vandross.

Ghent started performing and touring in France in 2014 with French musicians affiliated with Association BLUES'UP, and recorded two more albums, Velours (2016) in New York and the South of France, and The French Sessions (2017), the latter recorded entirely in France and released on the Blanc Musiques label.

Discography

Solo

With Ashford and Simpson

With Valerie Simpson

With Mike Thorne

Additional selected discography

Film credits

Television appearances

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References

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  3. "Powerhouse NYC Recording Artist Valerie Ghent Releases New Solo Album "Velours" at Joe's Pub, October 29". Nitelifeexchange.com. October 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  4. Banks Weber, Carol. "Valerie Ghent releases French-inspired 'Velours' at Joe's Pub". Axs.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  5. Dukes, Howard (October 11, 2016). "Valerie Ghent – Velours (2016)". Soultracks.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  6. "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Soultracks.com. December 26, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  7. "Discoveries: Valerie Ghent". Valerie Ghent (March 1998).
  8. Moy, Kevin (March 30, 2014). "Ashford & Simpson "I'm Every Woman"". Vimeo.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  9. "Bruce Willis/Bud Selig/Valerie Simpson". IMDb.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
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