Carol Welsman (born September 29, 1960)
["Carol Welsman." ''Gale Biography in Context''. Detroit: ]Gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).[Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...]
Frank Welsman
Frank Squire Welsman (20 December 1873 – 2 July 1952) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer and music educator. He began his career as a concert pianist, but ultimately earned his place in Canadian history for establishing Toronto's fir ...
["". Canadian Jazz Archive Online. canadianjazzarchive.org. Retrieved 2018-03-25.] and the sister of composer John Welsman
John Joseph Welsman (born 1955) is a Canadian composer known for his work in film and television. He has written film and television scores for production companies in both Canada and the United States. Some of the films he has worked on are '' ...
. She has been nominated six times for the Juno Award
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
, Canada's equivalent to the Grammy.
Career
Born in Toronto, Welsman studied classical piano as a child. She attended the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
, in Boston, majoring in piano performance. After receiving a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Carol studied voice in Paris with Christiane Legrand
Christiane Legrand (21 August 1930 – 1 November 2011) was a French soprano.
Biography
Legrand was born in Paris. Her father Raymond Legrand was a conductor and composer renowned for hits such as ''Irma la douce'', and her mother was Mar ...
. In 1990 Welsman returned to Toronto and joined the Jazz Performance Faculty at the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, giving private lessons, and developing a vocal jazz
Vocal jazz or jazz singing is an approach to jazz using the voice.
Vocal jazz emerged in the early twentieth century, with its roots in Blues. Popular blues singers such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey had a great deal of influence of jazz vocalis ...
improvisation ensemble.
In 1995 she released her first album, ''Lucky to Be Me'', containing jazz standards and her own song, "This Lullaby", which she presented on September 11, 2004 on the Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
TV show commemorating the 3rd anniversary of 9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. The song was also recorded by Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
on her 2004 "Miracle" album as "Baby, Close Your Eyes".
Welsman has written lyrics for Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
and Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...
.
Her 2009 album, ''I Like Men: Reflections of Miss Peggy Lee'', was voted Top 5 Album Pick of the Year 2009 in ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''.
On April 30, 2010 she appeared on Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...
's ''Piano Jazz
''Piano Jazz'' is a weekly one-hour radio show produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It began on June 4, 1978, and was hosted by jazz pianist Marian McPartland (1918–2013) until 2011. It is the longest-running cultural pro ...
'' and was interviewed by guest host Jon Weber.[Jackson, Grant (April 30, 2010).]
Carol Welsman On Piano Jazz, With Guest Host Jon Weber
. National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
(NPR). npr.org. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
With Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
she hosted the 2000 ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Jazz Awards. In 2005 she was the star of a documentary, ''The Language of Love''. Filmed in Brazil, Italy, and North America, she performed with Herbie Hancock, Djavan
Djavan Caetano Viana (; born 27 January 1949) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter.
Early life and career
Djavan was born in Maceió, Brazil to a white father of Dutch descent and a black mother. He later formed the group Luz, Som, Dimensão (LSD ...
, and Romano Musumarra
Romano Musumarra (born 21 July 1956) is an Italian composer, arranger, musician and record producer. Life and career
Born in Rome, Musumarra approached music as a child, learning to play pipe organ at his church. He studied piano, composition ...
. Welsman sings in English, Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish. A Berklee ''Distinguished Alumnus'', Carol Welsman is considered to be one of Canada's premiere Jazz vocalists and pianists.
Discography
* ''Just Imagination'' (Columbia/EMI, 1987)
* ''Lucky to Be Me'' (Welcar, 1996)
* ''Swing Ladies, Swing!'' (Welcar, 1998)
* ''Inclined'' (Justin Time, 1997)
* ''Hold Me'' (Avenue Jazz 2001)
* ''The Language of Love'' (Savoy 2002)
* ''What'cha Got Cookin'?'' (Koch 2006)
* ''Carol Welsman'' (Justin Time, 2007)
* ''I Like Men'' (Welcar, 2009)
* ''Memories of You'' (Fab, 2009)
* ''Journey'' (Justin Time, 2012)
* ''Alone Together'' (Welcar, 2015)
* ''For You'' (Welcar, 2017)
* ''Dance With Me'' (Welcar, 2020)
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsman, Carol
Living people
1960 births
Berklee College of Music alumni
Canadian women jazz singers
Canadian jazz pianists
Canadian women pianists
Musicians from Toronto
University of Toronto faculty
20th-century Canadian pianists
21st-century Canadian pianists
20th-century Canadian women singers
21st-century Canadian women singers
20th-century women pianists
21st-century women pianists