Lizz Wright

Lizz Wright (born January 22, 1980) is an American jazz/R&B singer and composer.

Wright was born in the small town of Hahira in the US state of Georgia; one of three children and the daughter of a minister and the musical director of their Church. She started singing gospel music and playing piano in church as a child, and also became interested in jazz and blues. She attended Houston County High School, where she was heavily involved in choral singing, receiving the National Choral Award. She went on to Georgia State University in Atlanta to study singing. Since then she has studied at The New School in New York, and in Vancouver. She currently resides outside Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Wright joined the Atlanta-based vocal quartet In the Spirit in 2000, which soon achieved critical acclaim, and in 2002 she signed a recording contact with Verve Records, where her musical compositions and vocal style led her to be compared to that of Norah Jones. Her first album, Salt, was released in the spring of 2003 and reached number two on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz chart in 2004. Her next release was not a follow-up of her debut, but this record maintained the jazz and pop blend, while incorporating folk music to her musical blend. Dreaming Wide Awake was released in June 2005 and reached number one on the Top Contemporary Jazz chart in 2005 and 2006. In 2008, Wright released The Orchard to positive reviews. She released her fourth album in 2010. Most songs on Fellowship are gospel standards.

Solo releases

 * 2003: Salt
 * 2005: Dreaming Wide Awake
 * 2008: The Orchard
 * 2010: Fellowship
 * 2013: ''TBA

Guest vocal contributions

 * "No One But Myself to Blame" and "Fool's Gold" on The Pecan Tree by Joe Sample (2002)
 * "...Till Then" and "Fiddle and the Drum" on ...Till Then by Danilo Perez (2003)
 * "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" on Closer by David Sanborn (2005)
 * "Come Rain or Come Shine" on One More for the Road by Toots Thielemans (2006)
 * "Freedom" on Supply and Demand by Amos Lee (2006) [back vocals]
 * "Reaching for the Moon" on We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song (2007)
 * "Whispering Pines (with Jakob Dylan)" on Endless Highway – A Tribute to the Band (2007)
 * "Stillness: Winterhouse" on Persona by Massimo Biolcati (2008)
 * "A Change Is Gonna Come" on Nordstrom's The Royal Blues: Celebrating The Queens Of Blues And Jazz (2009)
 * "Nobody's Fault But Mine" on Pour une ame souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone by Meshell Ndegeocello (2012)

Sources and external links

 * official website