Charenee Wade at Virginia Arts Festival at Attucks Theatre

“Subtle, soulful…ease and grace” (Charleston City Paper)—a singer like Charenee Wade can make it look easy. Rest assured, this gifted performer has earned her chops, singing, teaching, producing and arranging. Known for her flights of vocal improvisation and her swinging groove, Wade evokes the classic sound of Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan. Wade’s style has been embraced by such jazz stars as Wynton Marsalis, who features her regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Christian McBride, who mentored her at his Jazz Aspen Academy.
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“Subtle, soulful…ease and grace” (Charleston City Paper)—a singer like Charenee Wade can make it look easy. Rest assured, this gifted performer has earned her chops, singing, teaching, producing and arranging. Known for her flights of vocal improvisation and her swinging groove, Wade evokes the classic sound of Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan. Wade’s style has been embraced by such jazz stars as Wynton Marsalis, who features her regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Christian McBride, who mentored her at his Jazz Aspen Academy.

Her most recent album, the 2017 Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, has won rave reviews. The first tribute by a woman artist to the socially conscious poet and musician Scott-Heron, the recording is arresting in its timeliness, and as stunning in its powerful message as Wade’s deeply felt arrangements of this influential artist’s signature works.

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