Born: September 23, 1941 Primary Instrument: Vocal
Winstone has a lissome voice, agile and expressive, and she's a fine improviser, besides. That's not to say she's a vocal athlete, however; although she's known for her wordless improvisations, Winstone is a fine interpreter of lyrics and composed melody--a plain- speaking, rhythmically direct singer who gets to the heart of the matter quickly and effectively.
Winstone played piano and organ in her youth. She began singing semi-professionally by the age of 17, influenced by conventional jazz vocalists. During the '60s she became attracted to the jazz avant garde. She played in groups led by pianists Michael Garrick
Michael Garrick
1933 - 2011
and Mike Westbrook
Mike Westbrook
b.1936
composer/conductor
; she also sang with such forward-thinking musicians as saxophonist John Surman
John Surman
b.1944
saxophone
, flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler
Kenny Wheeler
b.1930
trumpet
, composer Michael Gibbs, and pianist John Taylor (whom she married in 1972). A late '60s gig at Ronnie Scott's club in London (also on the bill was the legendary tenor saxophonist Roland Kirk) garnered critical notice. In 1971 she was named best jazz singer in a poll by the British publication Melody Maker. That year she recorded her first album as leader, Edge of Time, for the Decca label. With Wheeler and Taylor, Winstone formed Azimuth, a critically-acclaimed contemporary chamber jazz group that recorded several times for the ECM label from the mid '70s. Winstone is also an accomplished lyricist, having written words to music composed by guitarists Egberto Gismonti and Ralph Towner
Ralph Towner
b.1940
guitar
, bassist Steve Swallow, and vocalist Ivan Lins
Ivan Lins
b.1945
keyboard
, among others.
In addition to the aforementioned, Winstone has performed and/or recorded in ensembles with Jimmy Rowles, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
b.1927
sax, alto
, Tony Coe
Tony Coe
b.1934
, Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch
b.1955
piano
, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
b.1946
bass
, Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine
b.1954
drums
, and George Mraz. In 1992 she collaborated with composer/arranger Steve Gray in the creation of “A French Folk Song Suite,” commissioned and performed by the North German Radio big band. She is also a member of Wheeler's big band. In July 2002 she was awarded the title Best Vocalist at the BBC Jazz Awards at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall
