Julie Dexter is a British singer, songwriter and producer, whose music spans the categories of jazz, soul and reggae. She was born and raised in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England, and has been based in the United States since 1999. Notable musicians with whom she has worked include

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

Jason Yarde Jason Yarde (born 1970) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, producer and music director. He has worked with a wide range of artists and music ensembles, including Denys Baptiste, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hil ...

, and others.

Biography

Born in Handsworth, England, to Jamaican parents, Julie Dexter was about four years old when she moved to

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-sout ...

, where she attended Primrose Hill Primary School, Turves Green Girls' School and then

Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College is located in Highgate, Birmingham, England (1 Belgrave Road, Birmingham B12 9FF, UK). The College offers a wide range of A-level and BTEC BTEC may refer to: * Begumgonj Textile Engineering College, a college ...

. She went on to study in London at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries o ...

, where her contemporary was saxophonist

. Already a member of

The Jazz Warriors The Jazz Warriors were an English all-black London-based group of jazz musicians, that made its debut in 1986. The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts, a London organization that promoted black music and black people, black culture. ...

, Yarde invited her to a Sunday jam session at the

Jazz Cafe The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, ...

, where bassist Gary Crosby later formed

Tomorrow's Warriors Tomorrow's Warriors is a jazz music education and artist development organisation that was co-founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and Gary Crosby, committed to championing diversity, inclusion and equality across the arts through jazz, with a spe ...

, of which Dexter was an early member. She was vocalist in the successful band J-Life, a quintet led by

, that arose out of the Tomorrow's Warriors workshop project conceived by Crosby: J-Life won the International Jazz Federation 16th European Jazz competition at

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...

, Germany, as well as the 1998 Perrier Award for Young Jazz Ensemble of the Year, with Dexter winning the Perrier Award for Young Jazz Vocalist of the Year. She counts among her influences Nancy Wilson and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. Dexter toured the world with

as lead singer with his group, before in 1999 moving to the United States, where she settled in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. She set up her own label, Ketch A Vibe Records, on which she released in 2000 her EP ''Peace of Mind'', followed by ''Dexterity'' (2002), ''Conscious'' (2005) and ''New Again'' (2011). ''Moon Bossa'', a collaboration with Khari Simmons, was released in 2007, and Dexter's single "Ketch A Vibe" was featured in national radio ads for then Democratic presidential candidate

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

Discography

* 2003: ''Dexterity'' (Ketch A Vibe) * 2005: ''Conscious'' (CD Baby / Ketch A Vibe) * 2006: ''Moon Bossa'' (Brash Music) * 2011: ''New Again'' (Ketch A Vibe) * 2013: ''New Again: The Remixes'' (MMP Records/Ketch A Vibe Records) * 2016: ''Blue Skies'', Meditative Funk (feat. Julie Dexter) * 2019: ''Déjà Vu''. Produced by Julie Dexter, Daz-I-Que and Khari Cabral Simmons

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, Julie Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Black British women singers British women jazz singers English people of Jamaican descent Living people