Kim Rene Nalley (born 1969) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

singer with a 3½

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

range.

Early life

Raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, Nalley is from a musical family that includes jazz drummer and photographer Reggie Jackson, she received piano lessons from her great-grandmother. She attended Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) in New Haven.

Career

Nalley switched to jazz shortly after moving to

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

in the late 1980s, where she attended

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

(UC Berkeley). She received from UC Berkeley a B.A. degree in History and sang in the Cal Big Band.Andrew Gilbert liner notes, ''Need My Sugar'' "She studied classical music and theatre and, while attending college, she gained important experience singing in local clubs and jam sessions." While performing weekly at the Alta Plaza, director

Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the S ...

discovered Nalley, recorded her in concert, and hired her to sing a program of Gershwin tunes with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...

. She began performing with the Johnny Nocturne Band, 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. After spending a couple of years living in Switzerland, she returned to San Francisco to own and run the Jazz at Pearl's North Beach night club during 2003–2008.

Discography

As leader

* ''Need My Sugar'' (CE Jazz & Blues, 2002) * ''She Put a Spell on Me: Kim Nalley Sings Nina Simone'' (CE Jazz & Blues, 2006) * ''Ballads for Billie'' (CE Jazz & Blues, 2006) * ''Christmas Time Is Here'' (2010) * ''Blues People'' (2015)

As guest

*With Rhoda Scott *''Beyond the Sea'' (Doodlin')

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nalley, Kim 1969 births Living people American jazz singers American women jazz singers American blues singers Singers from California Jazz musicians from California 21st-century American women African-American Catholics