Jocelyn B. Smith

Biography

Born in Queens, New York City, Smith received classical piano training from the age of 5. In 1980 she sang in Lenny White's funk / soul band Twennynine and went with her on a European tour. With the group Change she played in the opening act of the Electric Light Orchestra. In 1984 she moved to Berlin, where she made her first album River published 1991. In 1985 she made a guest appearance in the movie In the Desert by singing in Berlin club Quasimodo live. In 1987 she sang at the Tangerine Dream album Tyger, texts by William Blake. 1986/87 she was with Falco as a backing singer on a world tour. She toured from 1984 to 1996 with her band The Married Men through central Europe (incl. three GDR tours).

1996 she also sang with Udo Jürgens in his song "Gib niemals auf" in a duet from the album Gestern-Heute-Morgen.

In 1999, the composer Heiner Goebbels invited her to participate as a soloist in his work Surrogate Cities. She was at the premiere and subsequent performances in 2001 in Dessau, 2002 Edinburgh and 2003 in Brisbane, Australia and in Lucerne and Berlin while – as for example the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle. (Later performances were with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Scandinavia and Italy.)

As soprano she appeared in Mikis Theodorakis opera The Metamorphoses of Dionysus, sang duets with Maria Farantouri and released the CD Margarita with his songs. At the Berlin commemoration of 11 September 2001 (which was broadcast around the world including CNN) she sang the hymn "Amazing Grace".

In 2006 she performed in a television production with the The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic. In 2008, she performed with Zülfü Livanelis at Turkish Film Festival in Nuremberg and the Frankfurt Book Fair.

She has been socially active. She offered singing lessons in a Kreuzberg community and neighborhood center against poverty and social exclusion "Gitschiner 15". Since April 2008 she supports with her music project "Higher Love" – children sing for children, the Action Alliance landmine.de and advocates for a worldwide ban on cluster munitions and landmines. Then she founded in July 2008, the non-profit association Yes We Can e.V. which greatly makes up for the sustainable protection and assistance of victims of war children. Yes We Can e.V. is ambassador of beBerlin campaign of 2008.

Awards

For the German version of the film The Lion King she sang the title song and for her CD Blue Lights and Nylons she received in 2003 in Germany die Goldene Schallplatte im German Jazz Award.

Discography

Collaborations

Compilations