Camille Thurman, the
talented composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist, continues to make waves
as one of the most exciting figures in the world of jazz with new performance
dates in the U.S. and abroad. The triple-threat artist embarks on her second
exciting season as a saxophonist with the world-renowned Jazz At Lincoln Center
Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. The 2019-2020 season kicked off with a
three-night stand, September 12 through 14, featuring the music of the “South
African Songbook: Celebrating 25 Years of Democracy” at its home base at
Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in New York City.
The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra season continues with
tour stops across Africa, Europe, South America, and the U.S. through 2020,
including the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival at the Sandton Convention
Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on
September 26 through September 28.
In between her season tour dates with the orchestra, she has
a series of solo dates, including the White Plains Jazz & Food Festival in
White Plains, NY, on Sunday, September 15, with the Darrell Green Trio. On
Friday, October 11, Camille Thurman with the Darrell Green Trio will be
headlining at the NCPA Jazz Festival in Mumbai, India. After her dates in
Mumbai, she will head to Italy for a two-week engagement with jazz musician
Marco Marzola.
Additionally, Thurman appears as a featured artist on the
brand-new High Note Records project Hand Painted Dream by composer, guitarist,
and bandleader Peter Hand. The project includes some of the best musicians in
the scene today and is an extraordinary testament to the best in modern big
band music. The all-star ensemble includes trumpeters Eddie Allen and Valery
Ponomarev; saxophonists Don Braden and Bruce Williams; trombonist James Burton
III; and a rhythm section including James Weidman, Harvie S, and Steve Johns.
Thurman has also been named as an endorsing artist for Key Leaves saxophone key
props.
The year 2019 has already proven to be stellar for Thurman.
The artist kicked off the summer season with the Sisterhood of Swing Seven with
Bria Skonberg at the Mid-Summer Night Swing concert series with special guest
Catherine Russell. She wowed audiences at the Charlie Parker Festival in New
York, performing a new collaborative project featuring harpist Brandee Younger
and Vibraphonist Nikara Warren titled “Reclamation,” commissioned by the Joyce
and George Wein Foundation, the Jazz Gallery and City Parks Foundation of New
York. Thurman also performed at the Jazz In Marciac Festival in France as part
of Wynton Marsalis’ Young Stars of Jazz showcase. As part of a Charlie Parker
birthday celebration show, she joined an all-star band including Jeremy Pelt,
Greg Osby, Helen Sung, Lonnie Plaxico, and Billy Drummond at New York City’s
legendary Birdland. She and collaborator Darrell Green headlined a tribute to
late pianist Horace Silver as part of the Singers and Songbook Series at Bard
College. Thurman also headlined the Jazz Museum of Harlem’s Gala honoring Benny
Golson, alongside veteran singer and songwriter Valerie Simpson. What’s more,
she appeared on TV’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a featured artist
with Jon Batiste and Stay Human.
Last month, Thurman was one of the featured vocalists with
the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for the performance of Marsalis’
composition “The Ever Fonky Lowdown,” with the Chautauqua Symphony. She also
presented a lecture on Nina Simone at Chautauqua Institute.
Thurman has earned respect and raves as the only female
featured player on tour with the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra during its
2018-2019 season, which included dates in the United States, Singapore, China
(Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Beijing, Shenzhen), Australia
(Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne), and Brazil (São Paulo). She garnered
additional admiration during the JALCO’s two-week engagement in São Paulo,
Brazil when she sang “Flor de Lis” by Djavan in perfect Portuguese backed by
Wynton Marsalis and Brazilian artist Hamilton de Holanda as the encore (see her
rehearsal of the tune with de Holanda here).
The talented New York native’s ascent in the world of jazz
has been nothing short of astonishing. Thurman’s heady mix of fluid,
scat-tastic vocals, muscular sax lines and rhythmic inventiveness have steadily
gained fans and critical raves. In just a few years, Thurman was named a
finalist in the 2013 Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition;
released four full-length album projects; was nominated for an NAACP Image
Award for Outstanding Jazz Album (for Waiting For Sunrise); received her first
Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll nomination for Rising Star Tenor Sax; and won
two Independent Music Awards for Jazz Vocal Album (Waiting For the Sunrise) and
Fan Vote for Jazz Vocal Song (“Nearness of You”).
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