Camille Thurman (born December 22, 1986) is an American jazz musician, composer, and member of the

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. The Orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History In 1988 the Orchestra was formed as ...

. Her first two albums, released by

Chesky Records Chesky Records is a record company and label founded in 1978 by brothers David and Norman Chesky. The company produces high-definition recordings of music in a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, R&B, folk and world/ethnic. Che ...

in 2018 and 2017, peaked at #3 and #25 respectively on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart. She has performed at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, and was a runner up for the 2013

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

International Vocal Competition.

Early life

Thurman took up music at a young age, as she grew up in the St. Albans section of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, practicing vocals, piano, and flute before attending

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public High school (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Ce ...

of Music & Art and the Performing Arts. She first picked up the tenor saxophone, the instrument she is best known for playing, at the age of 15. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in geological & environmental science from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

Musical career

Thurman moved back to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

following her graduation, and played with a wide array of jazz musicians, particularly crediting saxophone player

Tia Fuller Tia Fuller (born March 27, 1976) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music. Fulle ...

and vocalist/bassist Mimi Jones with helping her in those early years. Thurman went on to place as a finalist in the 2013

International Vocal Competition, garnering much attention, and leading to her first record deal. Later in 2013, Thurman released her first album, ''Origins'', on Jones' label, Hot Tone Music. She followed up with her second album on Hot Tone, ''Spirit Child'', in 2014. Over December 2014 to January 2015 Thurman appeared alongside

Charenee Wade Charenee Wade is an American jazz, soul and R&B singer, composer, arranger, improvisor, and educator. Early life Charenee Wade was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, United States and began singing at the age of 12. She participated in the ...

Cyrille Aimée Cyrille Aimée (; born August 10, 1984) is a French jazz singer. Biography She grew up in the French town of Samois-sur-Seine, in Fontainebleau, France. Her father is French and her mother is from the Dominican Republic. She won the '' Montre ...

Allan Harris Allan Harris (28 December 1942 – 23 November 2017) was a footballer who played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers. His brother Ron was also a professional footballer. Harris was a full-back and began his career with Chelsea ...

and an eight-piece band including bassist Mimi Jones in Alex Webb (musician)'s jazz theatre show ''Cafe Society Swing'', at New York's

59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated by ...

, which received a Critic's Pick from

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. Thurman later signed to

, and released her third album, '' Inside the Moment'', on May 19, 2017, which debuted at #25 on the BIllboard Jazz albums Chart. Thurman released her fourth album, ''Waiting for the Sunrise'', through Chesky Records on August 24, 2018, and the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums Chart.

Awards and honors

* 16th Independent Music Award Nominated - Jazz Song with Vocals "Cherokee" * 17th Independent Music Award - Jazz Album with Vocals - ''Waiting for the Sunrise'' * 17th Independent Music Award - Jazz Song with Vocals - "The Nearness of You" * NAACP 50th Image Awards Nominated - Outstanding Jazz Album

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurman, Camille 1986 births American jazz musicians 21st-century American composers Binghamton University alumni Women jazz saxophonists Living people People from St. Albans, Queens Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Jazz musicians from New York (state)