Rooted In Spirit...Based On Jazz
Quotes
"Female jazz voice of the year - Nailah"
- Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 1, Worldwide, Brownswood Recordings
“Her voice has a refreshing rawness, along with deft phrasing and exhilarating instrumental moments”
-Rob Ryan, London Times
"Nailah is a true artist...a visionary whose music remains timeless and relevant"
- Billy Childs, Grammy - Award Winning Artist, Composer, Producer (Dianne Reeves)
"A raw yet silken cross between Sarah Vaughan and Cassandra Wilson"
- Shonda Buchanan, LA Weekly
- Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 1, Worldwide, Brownswood Recordings
“Her voice has a refreshing rawness, along with deft phrasing and exhilarating instrumental moments”
-Rob Ryan, London Times
"Nailah is a true artist...a visionary whose music remains timeless and relevant"
- Billy Childs, Grammy - Award Winning Artist, Composer, Producer (Dianne Reeves)
"A raw yet silken cross between Sarah Vaughan and Cassandra Wilson"
- Shonda Buchanan, LA Weekly
Bio
When asked to describe her music, Nailah coined the phrase “ConJazzNess” (pronounced “consciousness”) – “it is rooted in Spirit and based on jazz.” Preferring to discuss what informs the music she recalls “the smell of hickory-smoked barbeque” of her hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina…”the feel of cotton-pricked fingers” pinchin’ her cheeks’…and “the foot stomps and African harmonies of the Elder’s Choir at St. John CME Church.”
Nailah has written songs with Grammy winner and Guggenheim Fellow, Billy Childs, and contemporary jazz icons, Tom Scott and Jeff Lorber. Her music has been featured on the popular FX television show, “The Shield”. Nailah has also recorded and toured with various artists including Beck, Warren G, and John Cale (Velvet Underground). In 2010, Nailah was personally selected by Mayor Villaraigosa to perform at the City of Los Angeles Heritage Month opening and closing ceremonies, representing the accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans.
As the recent winner of “Jazz Voice of the Year”, Nailah made her London debut performing at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards, and recording at the historic BBC Maida Vale Studios with Robert Glasper. She’s a featured artist on the Brownswood Recordings compilation CD, Brownswood Bubblers Five and Nicola Conte's Love & Revolution CD and tour. Nailah's CD, ConJazzNess, featuring top musicians from LA and NYC, is a tasteful blend of rural jazz and worldly wise lyricism, crossing over from its be-bop roots to neo-soul hipness.
For the record, Nailah says her music “on the surface is a blending of genres, but more importantly, it sounds like what it is…Spirit speaking to me and through me to Itself in everything that is.”
Podcasts and Articles
BBC 4 - Woman's Hour - Interview & Live Performance
BBC 2 Radio - Jamie Cullum Show - Live Session @ Maida Vale
BBC 1 Radio - Gilles Peterson - Brownswood
Colourful Radio - Dom Servini - Wah Wah 45s
ARTICLES
London Sunday Times
UK Vibe Jazz Culture Online
So Jazz - France
Jazz Thing - Germany
Soul Sessions
Put Me On It
Jazz Hallelujah
Basement Soul Radio