Lizz Wright
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (November 2010) |
Lizz Wright | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Elizabeth LaCharla Wright |
Born | Hahira, Georgia, U.S. | January 22, 1980
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Labels | Concord, Verve |
Associated acts | |
Website | lizzwright |
Elizabeth LaCharla Wright (born January 22, 1980) is an American jazz and gospel singer.
Life and career[]
Wright was born in the small town of Hahira, Georgia, one of three children and the daughter of a minister and the musical director[1] of their church. She started singing gospel music and playing piano in church as a child, and also became interested in jazz and blues. She attended Houston County High School, where she was heavily involved in choral singing, receiving the . She went on to Georgia State University in Atlanta to study singing.[1]
Since then she has studied at The New School in New York,[2] and in Vancouver, BC.
Wright joined the Atlanta-based vocal quartet In the Spirit in 2000, and in 2002 she signed a recording contract with Verve Records, where her musical compositions and vocal style led her to be compared to that of Norah Jones.[1]
Her first album, Salt, was released in the spring of 2003[3] and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz chart in 2004. Her next release maintained the jazz and pop blend, while incorporating folk music.[1] Dreaming Wide Awake was released in June 2005[4] and reached No. 1 on the Top Contemporary Jazz chart in 2005 and 2006.
In 2008, Wright released The Orchard to positive reviews.[5][6][7][8] She released her fourth album, Fellowship, in 2010. Most songs on Fellowship are gospel standards.[9]
Discography[]
- Salt (Verve, 2003)
- Dreaming Wide Awake (Verve Forecast, 2005)
- The Orchard (Verve Forecast, 2008)
- Fellowship (Verve Forecast, 2010)
- Freedom & Surrender (Concord, 2015)
- Grace (Concord 2017)
As guest[]
- "No One but Myself to Blame" and "Fool's Gold" on The Pecan Tree by Joe Sample (2002)
- "...Till Then" and "The Fiddle and the Drum" on ...Till Then by Danilo Pérez (2003)
- "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" on Closer by David Sanborn (2005)
- "Come Rain or Come Shine" on One More for the Road by Toots Thielemans (2006)
- "Freedom" (backing vocals) on Supply and Demand by Amos Lee (2006)
- "Reaching for the Moon" with Regina Carter and Russell Malone on We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song (2007)
- "Whispering Pines", a duet with Jakob Dylan produced by Joe Henry for Endless Highway: The Music of The Band (2007)
- "Stillness: Winterhouse" on Persona by Massimo Biolcati (2008)
- "I Wish I Knew (How It Feels to Be Free)" with pianist Takana Miyamoto and Marcus Printup on Promises Made: The Millennium Promise Jazz Project produced by Kirk Whalum (2008)
- "A Change Is Gonna Come" on Nordstrom's The Royal Blues: Celebrating the Queens of Blues and Jazz (2009)
- "Nobody's Fault but Mine" on Pour une âme souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone by Meshell Ndegeocello (2012)
- "Backward Country Boy Blues" by Duke Ellington on Terri Lyne Carrington's Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue (2013)
- "When I Found You" by Patrice Rushen on Terri Lyne Carrington's The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul (2015)
- "This Song in Me", co-written by Wright with producer Derrick Hodge for We Are the Drum by Kendrick Scott Oracle (2015)
- "Om Sweet Om" on Taj Mo by Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' (2017)
- "Take Me Home" by José James for his album No Beginning No End 2 (2020)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Rizik, Christopher (2003–2010). "Lizz Wright Biography". SoulTracks.com. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
- ^ "Lizz Wright", JazzTimes.
- ^ "Salt", Billboard, May 24, 2003.
- ^ "Lizz Wright, Back with 'Dreaming Wide Awake'", NPR Music, June 14, 2005.
- ^ Anthony Tognazzini, Review of The Orchard, AllMusic.
- ^ Christian John Wikane, "Lizz Wright - The Orchard (2008)", Soul Tracks.
- ^ Jim Fusilli, "Lizz Wright, Refined Risk-Taker", The Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2008.
- ^ Phil Johnson, "Album: Lizz Wright, The Orchard (Verve Forecast)", The Independent, March 23, 2008.
- ^ Lizz Wright biography at Verve.
Sources and external links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lizz Wright. |
- 1980 births
- Living people
- People from Hahira, Georgia
- Singers from Georgia (U.S. state)
- 21st-century American singers
- 21st-century American women singers
- African-American singers
- American contraltos
- American gospel singers
- American jazz singers
- American women jazz singers
- Ballad musicians
- Concord Records artists
- Smooth jazz singers
- Verve Records artists
- Vocal jazz musicians
- African-American women musicians