Quiana Lynell (born April 16, 1981) is an American blues and jazz singer, arranger and songwriter.

Early life

Lynell was born in Tyler, Texas. She grew up in a religious home and was exposed to gospel music from a young age. During high school she was in the all-state choir.

Education

Lynell moved to

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

for her education. Lynell earned a B.A. degree in Vocal Performance from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

on a scholarship.

Career

Lynell began her singing career as a classical singer and was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church choir in Baton Rouge. After meeting Janelle Brown, lead singer of the

zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...

group 2 Da T, she began exploring additional musical genres, including zydeco and R&B. She has been mentored by notable artists such as

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy tenor and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with hi ...

, Germaine Bazzle, and Wendell Brunious. In 2017 she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and as a result of the award she received a recording contract with

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists ha ...

. Lynell has performed with

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Ma ...

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He has also written two operas and more than 80 film and television scores. Blanchard has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Original Score for ''B ...

, Jon Cowherd,

Marvin Sewell Marvin Sewell is an American blues/jazz guitarist from Chicago. Biography He was born and grew up in Chicago, where he attended the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University. Since 1990, he has been based in New York City. Sewell has pla ...

Eric Harland Eric Harland (born November 8, 1976, in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz drummer. In addition to leading his own group, Harland is a member of Charles Lloyd's Quartet, Dave Holland's Prism, James Farm with Joshua Redman, and Taylor Eigsti ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bi ...

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba. In 1995, Ledisi formed a band afte ...

, and with local artists and bands in Louisiana. She regularly performs at venues in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, including at the

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

on multiple occasions. She has also performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra as a principle Soprano In 2017, with the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a ...

, Lynell performed a tribute concert to Ella Fitzgerald, celebrating her 100th birthday. In 2018, Lynell was a featured artist with

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is known for his precise time-keeping and his signature use of Tuplet, triplets against a half-time backbeat: the P ...

's All-Star Shuffle, and

Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer. She has recorded twelve albums over the course of her career, mostly playing jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. In 1971, she was the first female instrume ...

, at

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

's R&B Festival in Brooklyn. In 2016, Lynell released the EP ''Loving Me'' (Q Sound) and the single ''Baton Rouge'' (Q Sound). Lynell has been a featured soloist on studio albums. Lynell has developed the educational program, "Made in America: Lyrically Speaking: Breaking Down Jazz, Blues and Soul in American Music, from the Vocalist Perspective", which has been used in clinics across the United States to educated students on jazz, blues and traditional American music from the vocalist perspective. She is also the founder of the running club, Musicians Run, aimed at promoting running to local musicians in Baton Rouge. Lynell has held several teaching positions, including as band directors in elementary and middle schools. Since 2016 she has been a private vocal instructor and an adjunct professor at Loyola University

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana.

Discography

* 2018: ''Live at the 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music) * 2019: ''A Little Love'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

) * 2022: ''Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music)

Awards

* 2017: Winner of Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition * 2017: Nominee for Best Emerging Artist, Best of the Beat Awards

Personal life

Lynell has two children and lives in Baton Rouge.

References

External links

Official website

Fox Performances

The Jazz of Entrepreneurs , Quiana Lynell , TEDxLSU

Quiana Lynell - The 504 TV Show Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynell, Quiana 1981 births Living people American blues singers American women jazz singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American jazz singers American rhythm and blues singers Louisiana State University alumni Musicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Loyola University New Orleans faculty Musicians from Tyler, Texas Jazz musicians from Louisiana Jazz musicians from Texas Concord Records artists American women academics 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition winners