Jazz pianist, singer and educator Dena DeRose, was born on February 15, 1966, in Binghamton, New York, to a construction worker and a former professional ice skater with the Ice Capades. She began playing the piano at age three and soon became a fan of jazz. As a child she also played organ and percussion and played piano in school bands. Although she began her career just as a pianist, medical problems with her hand forced her to become a vocalist as well.
When she was a teenager, she used to drive to New York City to see jazz musicians like Hank Jones and Mulgrew Miller. After high scool, DeRose was offered a scholarship to Concordia College but chose to attend Binghamton University instead.
Dena has brought that vitality and innovation to performances alongside the likes of Ray Brown, Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson, Rufus Reid, Slide Hampton and many, many others, and numerous jazz festivals worldwide have had Dena on their roster, including Monterey, San Francisco and Litchfield in the U.S., the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel and the Ancona Festival in Italy.
As a recording artist, Dena has 5 CDs to her credit, all of which have received superior accolades. Cadence Magazine gave her both their Album of the Year and Best Vocal Jazz Album awards for “Another World” and “I Can See Clearly Now”. Christopher Louden of Jazz Times says that the MaxJazz label “… takes another big leap forward” with the release of her latest,” A Walk in the Park”. It also received three Grammy considerations.
Astoundingly, Dena has also found time to hone her skills as a jazz educator, and is on the faculty at some prestigious education venues, including the New School and Purchase College in New York, The Hartt School of Music in Connecticut and the Groningen Conservatory of Music in The Netherlands. She frequently teaches at clinics and workshops, such as the Dave Brubeck Institute, the NJPAC Jazz for Teen Program, the Stanford Jazz Workshop and several summer jazz camps. She has served as a judge at both the Thelonious Monk Competition and the NJ Star Ledger Scholarship Awards.
Dena does "All the Way"
Reference - Wikipédia
No comments:
Post a Comment