Jacqui Dankworth
Daughter of the legendary jazz musician and composer Sir John Dankworth and International singing star Dame Cleo Laine, Jacqui Dankworth was brought up either on the road or by a succession of Spanish nannies. To Jacqui the positives of the entertainment world attracted more than the negatives repelled. There was never any question that she wouldn’t follow her parents into show business . The only surprise was into which area she chose to go.
Jacqui Dankworth’s first forays onto the stage were as an actress, and a successful one at that. For many years Jacqui worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and John Dexter's Company playing a multitude of critically acclaimed roles. Soon the plays turned into musicals and before long Jacqui was playing leading parts in the West End. But the singing bug had hit, and Jacqui left the lights of the London stage to focus on her own recording career.
The first thing Jacqui did was tour with brother Alec Dankworth's quintet, visiting Hawaii, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Jacqui then appeared as everything but the soldier in a staged performance of Stravinsky's “The Soldier's Tale” at the Purcell Room, London, and worked with award winning jazz composer/saxophonist Tim Garland on a song cycle - ‘Songs Of Love And Liberty’, alongside singers Norma Winstone and Christine Tobin. In early 1998 Jacqui was invited to be the guest vocalist on a major world tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Occasionally time allowed her to venture into the studio to record - her first work being a newly commissioned jazz reworking of A. E. Housman poetry, as a guest artist with the New Perspectives Ensemble. The album was voted Record of the Year in The Times.
By 1999 her reputation was spreading and Jacqui was asked to perform new arrangements of Gershwin classics with the BBC Big Band at The Barbican, London and Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Her next audio project was with the group “Field of Blue”. A simple acoustic band performing mostly original compositions. “Field Of Blue” toured extensively around the UK and Europe playing to packed houses and raising Jacqui’s profile as a major singing talent. Field of Blue recorded two albums, an eponymous CD in 1999 and the second, “Still” which was released in 2000 on Black Box records, both to wide acclaim.
Reviews were positive once again for the 2001 Black Box release with James Pearson, “For All We Know”, including, from the Sunday Times, ‘one of our finest singers regardless of category’. Jacqui happily appeared as a featured singer on Gerard Presencer's Linn album, The Optimist, and she recorded a track for the Nick Drake tribute album released on Hannibal Records as well as performing at the Barbican, London as part of the Nick Drake Tribute concert.
As a side project, Jacqui formed the three-part harmony group The Passion, with two other great singers Liane Carroll and Sara Colman. The truly unique group released an album in 2002 called “One Good Reason”, featuring the fabulous piano work of Liane Carroll and intricate, soulful three part harmonies of contemporary and original repertoire that features the individual and combined talent of three of the top vocalists/lyricists in the country.
More information about Jacqui Dankworth on next page
For more artist info and links to music tracks, please visit
www.jacquidankworth.com