Nancy Kelly
Nancy Kelly is an exceptionally gifted jazz singer in a league of her own.The lady was “Born to Swing”, and she means business. Her live performances are legendary. She has earned many awards and enlisted fans from around the globe. In a market place where wispy voices and shallow emotions abound, Ms. Kelly is a breath of fresh air...or should we say, smoky air; she takes us back to the time when jazz – and that includes vocal jazz — was an authentic expression of real emotion.
Nancy Kelly’s vocal style is a study in phrasing, style and swing. She’s both old school and new. She’s experienced, yet her delivery and ideas are fresh . It takes great jazz chops to do that, and Kelly’s are superb. Always swinging with a joyful vocal sound with an ever-present undercurrent of the blues
Starting at age four in her hometown of Rochester, New York, Nancy studied piano, clarinet, drama and dance with private instructors, and voice at the Eastman School of Music. During her forty-plus year career she has honed her trademark swing/bop take no prisoner’s back-to-the-roots swinging style in front of audiences across the U.S. and abroad—from Singapore to Switzerland, France, and Turkey to her 3 tours of Japan and a recent tour of Asia including Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta. Nancy appears regularly in New York City including performances at The Blue Note, Birdland and The Rainbow Room and Dizzy’s Jazz club, Lincoln Center. She works frequently in Los Angeles and Miami, as well as countless jazz clubs, festivals, and symphony orchestra engagements across the country.
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Album Review
- B That Way by C. Michael Bailey
- Born To Swing by Michael P. Gladstone
Live Review
Read more articlesJune 13, 2019
Vocalist Nancy Kelly's Remembering Mark Murphy CD Release Performance...
March 06, 2019
Nancy Kelly Releases April 26th Remembering Mark Murphy Featuring Randy...
August 10, 2017
Nancy Kelly's 6th CD honors legendary Jazz singer Mark Murphy
March 15, 2010
NY Vocalist Nancy Kelly Performs Live at Vitello's (Studio City) on...
February 28, 2007
Nancy Kelly Sing into Spring Festival at Dizzy's March 13-17
September 21, 2006
Nancy Kelly at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola September 21st at 11pm
May 31, 2006
Nancy Kelly Upcoming Appearances Celebrating the Release of Her New CD...
Nancy Kelly Well, Alright! (Saying it With Jazz SIWJ 0309)
On the second CD, recorded in towards the end of 2008 at Bake's Place, an intimate club in Issaquah (in the state of Washington), Nancy turns her attention to some show and pop songs from the 1960s and a generous sprinkling of blues. Among the songs she sings are 'But Not For Me', 'I Love Being Here With You', 'Let's Fall in Love' and 'Alright, Okay, You Win'. The result is an electric performance, on that underlines the praise prompted from me by her first CD. This time, Nancy has a different backing trio: Randy Halberstadt on piano, Jeff Johnson on bass and Gary Hobbs on drums
Primary Instrument
Voice / vocals
Location
Rochester
Willing to teach
Intermediate to advanced
Credentials/Background
Call for availability and rates
Clinic/Workshop Information
Nancy teaches "The Art of Popular Singing and Vocal Jazz Techniques" privately and at several colleges in upstate New York, focusing on what she calls "conversational singing." In Nancy's words: "I do not teach how to sing particular songs or any particular style of music. While I have students that study Jazz singing with me, my classes are intensive study on how to use the voice." She has combined techniques from the classical discipline with her 40 years experience singing everything from rock to jazz

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