Birth name Kim Rene Nalley Role Singer | Name Kim Nalley Years active 1987–present | |
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Origin San Francisco, California, United States Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, actress, club owner, writer, dancer Albums Blues People, She Put a Spell on Me, Ballads for Billie, Need My Sugar, Christmas Time is Here, Beyond the Sea Similar People Rhoda Scott, Akira Tana, Billie Holiday | ||
Kim nalley rethinking billie holiday on her centennial talks at google
Kim Rene Nalley (born 1969) is an American jazz and blues singer known for her powerful, 3½ octave range and scatting.
Contents
- Kim nalley rethinking billie holiday on her centennial talks at google
- Kim nalley sings nina simone
- Early life
- Career
- Discography
- Awards
- References
Nalley has also played folk guitar, and sung R&B and spirituals. She is also an actress, a historian, and the former owner of the San Francisco jazz club Jazz at Pearl's.
Kim nalley sings nina simone
Early life
Raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Nalley is from a musical family that includes jazz drummer and photographer Reggie Jackson and R&B guitarist-vocalist Earl Whitaker; she received piano lessons from her great-grandmother. Originally pursuing classical voice she studied Drama and Opera at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT and Classical Music at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. At Holy Cross, Nalley sang with the power rock combo The Limit, which featured Crusader musicians Garrett Scott Flynn (bass and piccolo), Steve Guerette (guitar, dobro and vocals), Jim Januzzi (guitar, keyboards and ukulele), Allan Harper (guitar, accordion, and bagpipes) and Anthony O'Donnell (trap drums, cowbell, djembe, and triangle).
Career
Nalley switched to jazz shortly after moving to San Francisco, where she attended UC Berkeley, receiving a B.A. in History and singing in the Cal Big Band, as well as receiving a See's Candy' Scholarship for Outstanding Musicianship.
While performing weekly at a bar/restaurant called the Alta Plaza, director Michael Tilson Thomas discovered Nalley, recorded her in concert and hired her to sing a program of Gershwin tunes with the San Francisco Symphony. She also began performing with the Johnny Nocturne Band for the Rounder/ Bullseye label, charting at No. 12 on the Gavin list and embarking on a national and international touring schedule that included the Mountain Stage. She also performed at the Teatro Zinzanni as Madame Zinzanni.
In 2001, Nalley left San Francisco to relocate to Switzerland, but returned to save the jazz club Jazz at Pearl's from going out of business.
Nalley often cites the Little Rascals and Bug Bunny cartoons as her seminal jazz influences. Her CD She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simone was shortlisted for a Grammy Award.