Michelle Walker

Michelle Walker
Born January 9, 1967 (1967-01-09) (age 45)
Baumholder, Germany
Origin Washington, DC
Genres Jazz
Occupations Vocalist
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1997–present
Labels JGP Records
Website www.michellewalkerjazz.com

Contents

Career

Michelle Walker (born January 9, 1967) is a jazz vocalist, song writer and arranger based in New York city. She started her music career in the Washington, DC area were she was nominated numerous times for a WAMA award (Washington Area Music Association) for best jazz vocalist,[1] best debut album of the year[2] and best jazz group.[3] She has toured in concert in the United States, Canada, Israel,[4] England, Russia and The Netherlands. She has performed in concert, most notably with Mark Murphy.[5] She has performed in a number of jazz festivals either sharing the stage or opening in concert for vocalist Rene Marie, Carol Sloane, Winton Marsalis, Chris Botti, George Benson and Spyro Gyra. Michelle has been described by the Washington Post as a "...sultry and seductive singer"[6]

Early years

Walker was born in Baumholder, Germany the fifth of six children to Captain Adolphus Walker, Jr. (US ARMY) and Linnie Mae Bardwell. Walker attended a specialized school for the arts, studying music, dance and theater. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Washington, DC where she remained studying classical voice and jazz vocal performance at the University of Maryland, College Park until she moved to New York City in 2007. Walker also studied voice privately and through master classes[7] taught by Betty Carter, Mark Murphy, Jay Clayton and Jon Hendricks. Walker has also studied jazz voice at Stanford University and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in Holland under teachers Madeline Eastman, Nancy Marano, Christian McBride, Jeff Clayton, Benny Green (pianist), Steve Davis (trombonist) and Sam Rivers.</ref>

Footnotes

  1. ^ Washington Area Music Association Awards Nominee List 2004 Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  2. ^ Washington Area Music Association Awards Nominee List 2002 Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  3. ^ Washington Area Music Association Awards Nominee List 2003 Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  4. ^ Article, Ben Shalev. Uptown jazz in downtown Tel Aviv Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  5. ^ Jazz on Granby Concert Series, October 22, 2004. The Duke Ellington Songbook. (Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  6. ^ Joyce, Mike. MICHELLE WALKER "Slow Down" The Washington Post | January 17, 2003 (Retrieved July 24, 2009)
  7. ^ Interview, "Michelle Walker: Jazz Singer" Feministing.com | November 03, 2007 (Retrieved July 27, 2009).

External links

Official sites

Discography

Year Artist Album Label Charts/Sales Info
2002 Michelle Walker Slow Down[1] JGP Records
  1. ^ Amazon.com. (2009). Amazon.com: Slow Down: Music: Michelle Walker. Retrieved July 28, 2009, from http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Down-Michelle-Walker/dp/B00005UPGW