Grace Kelly (musician)
Encyclopedia
Grace Kelly is an Asian-American jazz
saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter
, arranger
, and bandleader
.
Kelly became the youngest ever musician voted to the Down Beat
Magazine's Critics Poll at age 16. At 18 she released her sixth album, Man With The Hat
, a collaboration with jazz legend Phil Woods
.
to Korean parents, she moved to Brookline, MA when she was two years old. Her mother remarried in 1997 to Robert Kelly, who legally adopted Grace a few years later, thus changing her name to Grace Kelly. Kelly was brought up in a family that greatly appreciates music and the arts.
and jazz. Her parents used to play Stan Getz
at Sunday brunch and she fell in love with “The Sound”. She wanted to play saxophone but was too young at the time. Kelly began taking classical piano lessons at age six, but changed to jazz because she liked making up her own melodies instead of playing what was written on the page. Kelly wrote her first song On My Way Home at age seven. In 4th grade, Kelly took up playing the clarinet through her elementary school, but switched over to saxophone privately later that year. At age 12, Kelly recorded her first CD, Dreaming. While in the recording stages Kelly met Ann Hampton Callaway
, a renowned jazz cabaret
singer who offered to write the liner notes to Grace’s first CD. Of Kelly, she said “her sensitivity, control and focus as an alto saxophonist is impressive. When I played some songs of hers for the legendary drummer Victor Lewis, he said, 'Wow I love her sound.'"
at age 16, earned her GED
, and began study at Berklee College of Music
on full scholarship, where she is currently in her junior year. Kelly studies or has studied saxophone with George Garzone
, Lee Konitz
, Greg Osby
, Jerry Bergonzi
, and Allan Chase.
and the Boston Pops 2007 Jazz Series. One of the selections Kelly performed was her award winning composition Every Road I Walked which she also arranged for the entire Pops orchestra.
Kelly opened the 2010 Newport Jazz Festival
playing alongside Jamie Cullum
.
She has performed in venues in the North America, Europe and Asia including Carnegie Hall, Rose Hall at JALC, Birdland, Kennedy Center, Detroit Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, Newport Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, Jazz Standard, 50th Grammy Awards (After party), Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scotts, Duc des Lombard, Porgy & Bess.
, Phil Woods
, Dave Brubeck
, Hank Jones
, Wynton Marsalis
, Keith Lockhart
, Frank Morgan
, Kenny Barron
, Cedar Walton
, Marian McPartland
, Harry Connick, Jr.
, Esperanza Spalding
, Russell Malone
, Rufus Reid
, Matt Wilson, Ann Hampton Callaway
, Jerry Bergonzi
, Terri Lyne Carrington
, Dianne Reeves
, Chris Potter
, Adam Rogers
, Christian Scott
, Peter Bernstein
, James Cotton
, Jamie Cullum
, Monty Alexander
, Dee Dee Bridgewater
, Geri Allen
, among others.
"I first met Grace Kelly at the 2006 summer jazz program at Stanford University. I was amazed at her precocity and talent. Recently she sat in with me and the Jazz Ambassadors Jazz Band at the Pittsfield Jazz Fest. and we jammed together through "I’ll Remember April." How did she sound? I gave her my hat! That is how good she sounded! She is the first alto player to get one. Hooray for the future of jazz and the alto sax!” "Ten years ago I was asked by someone where the new Bird was going to come from. I said, half-jokingly, that it might be a dwarf, Albino woman from Africa. Jazz seems to be floundering right now, and we don’t have a clear-cut leader. Maybe Grace Kelly is the one. You just never know.” … Phil Woods
"Ms. Kelly is a phenomenon -- not a precociously talented child, but a complete improvising musician. With Konitz, one of the great individualists in jazz, she is a peer." ……Doug Ramsey- Rifftides
"Grace had invited me to play a few tunes on her new CD but once we got into the studio there were many inspired moments and it turned out to be a whole Cd on its own. I gave her permission to play better than I, if she just couldn’t stand it anymore. Grace is a fearless young improviser, and besides that she is fun to be around." …..Lee Konitz
"The future of our music is in good hands." …..Jimmy Heath
"Well after reading the glowing reviews from many of my peers on your CD jacket I expected something special, but words can only do so much justice toward introducing your talents and obvious dedication to music. It simply has to be heard...you know how to get to the essence of swing, sound, and true improvisation and whether you are playing or singing or composing this essence shines through and is the sign of a true artist at work. It also goes without saying, that you have a maturity far beyond your years. I look forward to following your career. I really think you will have a big impact on the music world.” ….. Randy Brecker
"Grace Kelly is a unique and genuine talent. Great young performers are nothing new, but someone who possesses such ease of expression and musical personality at such an early stage of her career is a find, indeed. I can’t wait to see what her future holds!" …Keith Lockhart
"Grace is rapidly making her way up in the jazz music world. Grace's talents far outstrip others her age . . . So proclaims the teenagers web site. And this is no generic MySpace page, but (like everything associated with Ms. Kelly) a slick, professional presentation... Ah, I wish I was more impressed with Grace Kelly's saxophone playing. I have been told many times that I should be impressed with it." Ted Goia
"What if I told you that the future of jazz, which many have pronounced dead or dying in the last two decades, rested in the hands of a 16-year-old Korean American saxophonist named Grace Kelly? ….I’ve heard the future of jazz and it is Grace Kelly.” ....David Was, NPR’s Day to Day
"Jazz has had its share of prodigies over the years, as well as players -- Miles Davis was one -- who established their creative credentials while they were barely out of their teens …..few teenage horn players, and even fewer who are female, have drawn much attention in recent years. With the exception, that is, of Grace Kelly, a 15-year-old alto saxophonist and singer Grace Kelly. Grace plays with stunning maturity and an extraordinary command of her instrument.” ....Don Heckman, Special to The LA Times
"I love this record…This young lady has bags of talent." ....Michael Jackson, Downbeat
"Has she really got it? …. The answer turns out to be, yes.” ....William Ruhlman, JazzTimes
"What gave the evening a "star is born" dramatic tension was the playing of an amazing alto saxophonist, Grace Kelly.” ....Mike Drew, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Grace Kelly is still on. No mere flash in the pan, Grace Kelly is here to stay.” ....Ken Dryden, All About Jazz
"To say that Kelly plays with maturity beyond her years is to make the understatement of the decade. She has a strong, bright, centered sound, great harmonic and melodic command, and time and technique to burn... Make no mistake; Ms. Kelly has got the goods.” ....Billy Kerr, Saxophone Journal
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
.
Kelly became the youngest ever musician voted to the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Magazine's Critics Poll at age 16. At 18 she released her sixth album, Man With The Hat
Man with the Hat
Man with the Hat is an album by American jazz saxophonists Grace Kelly and Phil Woods. It was released on January 25, 2011.The title of the album refers to when Woods invited Kelly, when she was 14 years old, on stage during one of his performances and presented her with his iconic leather cap as a...
, a collaboration with jazz legend Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
.
Early life
Born Grace Chung, in Wellesley, MassachusettsWellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
to Korean parents, she moved to Brookline, MA when she was two years old. Her mother remarried in 1997 to Robert Kelly, who legally adopted Grace a few years later, thus changing her name to Grace Kelly. Kelly was brought up in a family that greatly appreciates music and the arts.
Discovering the saxophone
Kelly grew up in a household that appreciated music especially the American Songbook, BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and jazz. Her parents used to play Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
at Sunday brunch and she fell in love with “The Sound”. She wanted to play saxophone but was too young at the time. Kelly began taking classical piano lessons at age six, but changed to jazz because she liked making up her own melodies instead of playing what was written on the page. Kelly wrote her first song On My Way Home at age seven. In 4th grade, Kelly took up playing the clarinet through her elementary school, but switched over to saxophone privately later that year. At age 12, Kelly recorded her first CD, Dreaming. While in the recording stages Kelly met Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New...
, a renowned jazz cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer who offered to write the liner notes to Grace’s first CD. Of Kelly, she said “her sensitivity, control and focus as an alto saxophonist is impressive. When I played some songs of hers for the legendary drummer Victor Lewis, he said, 'Wow I love her sound.'"
Education
She left Brookline High SchoolBrookline High School
Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States.As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,826 students and 136 teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 13.4 to 1 teacher.-Education:Almost every senior in...
at age 16, earned her GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
, and began study at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
on full scholarship, where she is currently in her junior year. Kelly studies or has studied saxophone with George Garzone
George Garzone
George Garzone is a saxophonist and jazz educator residing in New York city.Saxophonist George Garzone is a member of The Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti, that performs regularly in the Boston area and has toured world wide. The...
, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Greg Osby
Greg Osby
Greg Osby is an American jazz saxophonist who plays mainly in the free jazz, free funk and M-Base idioms.-Biography:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, where he majored in Jazz Studies, and then at the Berklee College of Music, with Andy McGhee...
, Jerry Bergonzi
Jerry Bergonzi
Jerry Bergonzi is a jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator. Bergonzi received a B.A. Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is the founder of Not Fat Records....
, and Allan Chase.
Touring
At age 14, Kelly appeared as special guest artist for two nights with Keith LockhartKeith Lockhart
For the baseball player, see Keith Lockhart Keith Lockhart , to Newton Frederick and Marilyn Jean Woodyard Lockhart, is an American orchestral conductor....
and the Boston Pops 2007 Jazz Series. One of the selections Kelly performed was her award winning composition Every Road I Walked which she also arranged for the entire Pops orchestra.
Kelly opened the 2010 Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
playing alongside Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
.
She has performed in venues in the North America, Europe and Asia including Carnegie Hall, Rose Hall at JALC, Birdland, Kennedy Center, Detroit Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, Newport Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, Jazz Standard, 50th Grammy Awards (After party), Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scotts, Duc des Lombard, Porgy & Bess.
Collaborations
Kelly has recorded and/or performed with Lee KonitzLee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Hank Jones
Hank Jones
Henry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
, Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, Keith Lockhart
Keith Lockhart
For the baseball player, see Keith Lockhart Keith Lockhart , to Newton Frederick and Marilyn Jean Woodyard Lockhart, is an American orchestral conductor....
, Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
, Marian McPartland
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland, OBE is an English-born jazz pianist, composer, writer, and the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio, NPR.-Early life:...
, Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding is an American multi-instrumentalist best known as a jazz bassist and singer, who draws upon many genres in her own compositions...
, Russell Malone
Russell Malone
Russell Malone is an essentially self-taught swing and bebop jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988, and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s...
, Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.-Personal history:...
, Matt Wilson, Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New...
, Jerry Bergonzi
Jerry Bergonzi
Jerry Bergonzi is a jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator. Bergonzi received a B.A. Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is the founder of Not Fat Records....
, Terri Lyne Carrington
Terri Lyne Carrington
Terri Lyne Carrington is a jazz drummer, composer, record producer and entrepreneur. She has played with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and many more...
, Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Reeves is an American jazz singer. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.-Early life:Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke, is a...
, Chris Potter
Chris Potter
Christopher or Chris Potter may refer to:*Chris Potter *Christopher Potter *Chris Potter *Chris Potter *Christopher Potter, English academic and clergyman*Chris Potter , Dean of St Asaph...
, Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers is an American guitarist specializing in post bop, contemporary jazz, and classical music. Rogers has had a prolific and extensive session history as a recording guitarist having played on over 150 commercially released recordings...
, Christian Scott
Christian Scott
Christian Scott, born March 31, 1983, in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the 2010 Edison Award winner for Best International Jazz Artist and a Grammy Award-nominated jazz trumpeter, composer and producer. He has been heralded by JazzTimes magazine as "the Architect of a new commercially viable fusion"...
, Peter Bernstein
Peter Bernstein
Peter Bernstein may refer to:*Peter Bernstein , American film and television composer*Peter Bernstein , American jazz guitarist*Peter L. Bernstein , American author, economist and educator...
, James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
, Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander is a jazz pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal.-Biography:Alexander discovered the piano at the age of 4, taking classical music...
, Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American Jazz singer. She is a three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award - winning stage actress and host of National Public Radio's syndicated radio show JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater...
, Geri Allen
Geri Allen
Geri Allen is an American composer/pianist educator jazz pianist, raised in Detroit, Michigan, and educated in the Detroit Public Schools. Allen has worked with many of the greats of modern music, including Ornette Coleman, Ron Carter, Ravi Coltrane, Tony Williams, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette,...
, among others.
Artist quotes
"Grace Kelly plays with intelligence, wit and feeling. She has a great amount of natural ability and the ability to adapt. That is the hallmark of a first-class jazz musician.” ….Wynton Marsalis"I first met Grace Kelly at the 2006 summer jazz program at Stanford University. I was amazed at her precocity and talent. Recently she sat in with me and the Jazz Ambassadors Jazz Band at the Pittsfield Jazz Fest. and we jammed together through "I’ll Remember April." How did she sound? I gave her my hat! That is how good she sounded! She is the first alto player to get one. Hooray for the future of jazz and the alto sax!” "Ten years ago I was asked by someone where the new Bird was going to come from. I said, half-jokingly, that it might be a dwarf, Albino woman from Africa. Jazz seems to be floundering right now, and we don’t have a clear-cut leader. Maybe Grace Kelly is the one. You just never know.” … Phil Woods
"Ms. Kelly is a phenomenon -- not a precociously talented child, but a complete improvising musician. With Konitz, one of the great individualists in jazz, she is a peer." ……Doug Ramsey- Rifftides
"Grace had invited me to play a few tunes on her new CD but once we got into the studio there were many inspired moments and it turned out to be a whole Cd on its own. I gave her permission to play better than I, if she just couldn’t stand it anymore. Grace is a fearless young improviser, and besides that she is fun to be around." …..Lee Konitz
"The future of our music is in good hands." …..Jimmy Heath
"Well after reading the glowing reviews from many of my peers on your CD jacket I expected something special, but words can only do so much justice toward introducing your talents and obvious dedication to music. It simply has to be heard...you know how to get to the essence of swing, sound, and true improvisation and whether you are playing or singing or composing this essence shines through and is the sign of a true artist at work. It also goes without saying, that you have a maturity far beyond your years. I look forward to following your career. I really think you will have a big impact on the music world.” ….. Randy Brecker
"Grace Kelly is a unique and genuine talent. Great young performers are nothing new, but someone who possesses such ease of expression and musical personality at such an early stage of her career is a find, indeed. I can’t wait to see what her future holds!" …Keith Lockhart
Critics quotes
"The problem wasn’t really Ms. Kelly’s modest voice or her coyly breathy delivery. It was that her turn as a singer felt extremely calculated, underscoring the ways she has been packaged, or has packaged herself." Nate Chinen, NY Times"Grace is rapidly making her way up in the jazz music world. Grace's talents far outstrip others her age . . . So proclaims the teenagers web site. And this is no generic MySpace page, but (like everything associated with Ms. Kelly) a slick, professional presentation... Ah, I wish I was more impressed with Grace Kelly's saxophone playing. I have been told many times that I should be impressed with it." Ted Goia
"What if I told you that the future of jazz, which many have pronounced dead or dying in the last two decades, rested in the hands of a 16-year-old Korean American saxophonist named Grace Kelly? ….I’ve heard the future of jazz and it is Grace Kelly.” ....David Was, NPR’s Day to Day
"Jazz has had its share of prodigies over the years, as well as players -- Miles Davis was one -- who established their creative credentials while they were barely out of their teens …..few teenage horn players, and even fewer who are female, have drawn much attention in recent years. With the exception, that is, of Grace Kelly, a 15-year-old alto saxophonist and singer Grace Kelly. Grace plays with stunning maturity and an extraordinary command of her instrument.” ....Don Heckman, Special to The LA Times
"I love this record…This young lady has bags of talent." ....Michael Jackson, Downbeat
"Has she really got it? …. The answer turns out to be, yes.” ....William Ruhlman, JazzTimes
"What gave the evening a "star is born" dramatic tension was the playing of an amazing alto saxophonist, Grace Kelly.” ....Mike Drew, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Grace Kelly is still on. No mere flash in the pan, Grace Kelly is here to stay.” ....Ken Dryden, All About Jazz
"To say that Kelly plays with maturity beyond her years is to make the understatement of the decade. She has a strong, bright, centered sound, great harmonic and melodic command, and time and technique to burn... Make no mistake; Ms. Kelly has got the goods.” ....Billy Kerr, Saxophone Journal
Awards and distinguished honors
- Youngest ever named twice in the annual Downbeat Magazines 2009 and 2010 Critics Poll as one of the Alto Saxophone
- Recipient of the ASCAP Foundation 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 Young Jazz Composers Award
- Winner Jimmy Woode Award Saxophone Soloist, Tuscia in Jazz Italy
- Finalist 2009 Jazz A Juan Revelations, Les Pins, France
- Voted "Best Jazz Act” in Boston three consecutive years 2008, 2009 and 2010 FNX/Phoenix Best Music Poll
- "Outstanding Jazz Act of the Year" 2008 Boston Music Awards
- Finalist 2009 ISC International Songwriting Contest "But Life Goes On" - First ever recipient of the "Brad Delp Rising Star Award” - 2009 Limelight Magazine Music Awards
- Recipient of the 2008 Francis B. Lanier Award NEC Prep School (Youngest ever and first non-classical musician to receive the award.)
- Performed winning composition "Every Road I Walked” at the 2007 ASCAP Foundation Annual Awards in New York.
- 2006-2009 Winner of twelve (12) Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards. Jazz Soloist, Jazz Vocalist, Pop/Rock Blues Soloist, Composition, Extended Composition, Arrangement
- Recipient of the Berklee College of Music Superior Musicianship Award at 2007 Berklee High School Jazz Festival
- Youngest ever winner of Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship at the 2006 East Coast Jazz Festival.
- Winner of International Songwriting Competition ISC 2008 for her composition "101”
- Winner of two International Songwriting Competitions in 2006 & 2007 for her composition "Filosophical Flying Fish” (Every Road I Walked)
- Judged the top woodwind soloist and the top vocal alto soloist at the 2007 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
- 2008 Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble
- 2007 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center in Wash. D.C.
- 2007 Steans Institute at Ravinia,
- 2006, 2007 and 2008 Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony
- 2006, 2007 and 2008 Stanford Jazz Residency Program.
Discography
- Man With The HatMan with the HatMan with the Hat is an album by American jazz saxophonists Grace Kelly and Phil Woods. It was released on January 25, 2011.The title of the album refers to when Woods invited Kelly, when she was 14 years old, on stage during one of his performances and presented her with his iconic leather cap as a...
(2011) Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Monty AlexanderMonty AlexanderMonty Alexander is a jazz pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal.-Biography:Alexander discovered the piano at the age of 4, taking classical music...
, Evan Gregor, Bill Goodwin, Jordan Perlson - Mood Changes (album)Mood Changes (album)Mood Changes is a jazz album by the American saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly .It was released May 5, 2009. The tracks 101 and I Want To Be Happy were winners of 2008 ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award.-Track listing:...
(2009) Terri Lyne CarringtonTerri Lyne CarringtonTerri Lyne Carrington is a jazz drummer, composer, record producer and entrepreneur. She has played with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and many more...
, Jason Palmer, Doug Johnson, John Lockwood, with special guests Adam RogersAdam RogersAdam Rogers is an American guitarist specializing in post bop, contemporary jazz, and classical music. Rogers has had a prolific and extensive session history as a recording guitarist having played on over 150 commercially released recordings...
and Hal CrookHal CrookHal Crook is a jazz trombonist. He has a degree from the Berklee College of Music and is considered to be a leading teacher and author in the field of jazz improvisation.- Discography :* Hello Heaven * Only Human... - GRACEfulLEEGRACEfulLEEGracefulLee is an album by American jazz saxophonists Grace Kelly and Lee Konitz. It was released on July 8, 2008.GracefulLee is Kelly's fourth studio album. It has received positive reviews from music critics, including a four and a half star review from Down Beat Magazine in November 2008...
(2008) Lee KonitzLee KonitzLee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Russell MaloneRussell MaloneRussell Malone is an essentially self-taught swing and bebop jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988, and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s...
, Rufus ReidRufus ReidRufus Reid is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.-Personal history:...
, Matt Wilson - Every Road I WalkedEvery Road I WalkedEvery Road I Walked is an album by American jazz saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly.It was released on December 1, 2006, and features three award winning songs:...
(2006), Terri Lyne CarringtonTerri Lyne CarringtonTerri Lyne Carrington is a jazz drummer, composer, record producer and entrepreneur. She has played with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and many more...
, Doug Johnson, John Lockwood, and special guest Christian ScottChristian ScottChristian Scott, born March 31, 1983, in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the 2010 Edison Award winner for Best International Jazz Artist and a Grammy Award-nominated jazz trumpeter, composer and producer. He has been heralded by JazzTimes magazine as "the Architect of a new commercially viable fusion"... - Times TooTimes TooTimes Too is an album by American jazz saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly. It was released on December 15, 2005.Times Too is Kelly's second release, a double disc, and features a blend between pop and jazz standards and originals...
(2005), Doug Johnson, John Lockwood, Yoron Israel - Dreaming (album)Dreaming (album)Dreaming is an album by the American jazz saxophonist and vocalist Grace Kelly. It was released January 1, 2005.Dreaming is Kelly’s debut studio album, recorded when she was just 12 years old...
(2004), Doug Johnson, John Lockwood, Jordan Perlson
Film credits
- Delta Rising. A blues documentary, featuring Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Morgan FreemanMorgan FreemanMorgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
and others. - Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. Musical contribution by Kelly.
- Men In Green. A behind the scenes film documentary with the Boston Celtics Legends hosted by Boston CelticsBoston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
legend Satch Sanders. Created by John Ippolito and directed by award winning director, Laura Bernieri. Music and soundtrack composed and performed by Kelly.