YolanDa Brown
Encyclopedia
YolanDa Brown born to Jamaican parents in Barking
, London
, England (4 October 1982) is a British jazz
urban contemporary
saxophonist and composer.
.
A past student of Bancroft's School
, Beal High School
and the University of Kent
, Kent Business School in Canterbury
, England. Her Undergraduate Master's Dissertation was on "Combining SSM (Soft systems methodology) and DESM (Discrete event simulation
) in an Athletics Club." She also fronted a TV talk show on a Sky Channel and appeared in inspirational idents for BET network.(Black Entertainment Television
)
She is a 2008 MOBO
“Best Jazz” winner and UMA nominee. In 2009, YolanDa became the first musician to not only be nominated in the "Best Jazz" category of the MOBO's in consecutive years, but also the first to win it two years running. In 2009 she also won "Best Jazz" at the UMA's.
YolanDa has worked with musicians such as Monty Alexander
, Ramon Vallé, Michel Camilo
, Hilario Duran
, Dean Fraser
, Sonny Bradshaw
, Otis Williams
and the Temptations along with their manager Shelly Berger.
As a solo artist/saxophonist has worked in genres from straight ahead jazz to grime, performing front and centre alongside various artists including Sway DaSafo
, Bashy
, Omar Lye-Fook
, Soweto Kinch
, Alexander O'Neal
, Mica Paris
, Terri Walker
, Dean Fraser, Sonny Bradshaw and Desi Jones, to name but a few. In late 2008, she toured the UK, opening for The Temptations.
YolanDa's pivotal performances of 2010 included an invitation to take part in PanJazz 2010 on its transfer from the Lincoln Center in New York to the UK This saw her performing alongside musicians including Etienne Charles and Leon Foster Thomas. Her November 19 concert at Indig02 at the 02 Arena, London continued her record of musically excellent and uniquely entertaining sold out events.
On December 2, 2010, YolanDa was presented with an Honorary Doctor of the Arts by the University of East London in a ceremony at the Barbican Theatre, London.
For YolanDa music has always been a theraputic and enabling force which promotes 360 degree communication and empowering links across all humankind. In striving to share and involve the many rather than an elite few through the wonder of music, YolanDa was honoured to become a Celebrity Ambassador for HRH The Prince of Wales and His Prince’s Trust Charity.
YolanDa is a Yamaha endorsed artist and was also appointed the UK's class band ambassador in February 2011. Yamaha Class Band is a whole-class wind band teaching method, currently being piloted, until July 2012, in a collaboration between Yamaha UK and two of the UK's leading music services.
YolanDa is also a Patron of The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians,which provides outstanding progression and development opportunities to young people who demonstrate significant musical talent and commitment.
Barking
Barking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross. Barking was in the historic county of Essex until it was absorbed by Greater London. The area is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England (4 October 1982) is a British jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
saxophonist and composer.
.
A past student of Bancroft's School
Bancroft's School
Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent school in Woodford Green, London. The school has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18...
, Beal High School
Beal High School
Beal High School is a secondary school in Ilford, Essex, England. The school has over 1600 students and over 100 teachers with around 100 support assistants. The school begins at Year 7 and continues with compulsory schooling through to Year 11...
and the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
, Kent Business School in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, England. Her Undergraduate Master's Dissertation was on "Combining SSM (Soft systems methodology) and DESM (Discrete event simulation
Discrete Event Simulation
In discrete-event simulation, the operation of a system is represented as a chronological sequence of events. Each event occurs at an instant in time and marks a change of state in the system...
) in an Athletics Club." She also fronted a TV talk show on a Sky Channel and appeared in inspirational idents for BET network.(Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
)
She is a 2008 MOBO
Mobo
Mobo can refer to:*Shorthand for the motherboard in computers and other electronic equipment*Shorthand for a mobile [network] operator or MNO *Shorthand for a mobile bohemian, a person who embraces mobile technology...
“Best Jazz” winner and UMA nominee. In 2009, YolanDa became the first musician to not only be nominated in the "Best Jazz" category of the MOBO's in consecutive years, but also the first to win it two years running. In 2009 she also won "Best Jazz" at the UMA's.
YolanDa has worked with musicians such as Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander is a jazz pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal.-Biography:Alexander discovered the piano at the age of 4, taking classical music...
, Ramon Vallé, Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work...
, Hilario Duran
Hilario Durán
Hilario Durán is a Cuban jazz pianist.Durán studied at the Arnadeo Roldan Music Institute in Havana, studying tumbao with Evaristo Aparicio, composition and conducting from German Pifferrer, and orchestration from Guillermo Barreto. He formed a group in the 1970s called Los D'Siempre, which melded...
, Dean Fraser
Dean Fraser
Dean Fraser is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Musgrave Medal by the Jamaican government in 1993 in recognition of his services to music.-Biography:Fraser started to play the clarinet at the age of 12...
, Sonny Bradshaw
Sonny Bradshaw
Cecil "Sonny" Bradshaw C.D. , known as the "dean of Jamaican music", and the "musician's musician", was a Jamaican bandleader, trumpeter, broadcaster, and promoter who was a major figure in Jamaican music for more than sixty years.-Biography:Bradshaw was born in 1926 in Kingston, the only child of...
, Otis Williams
Otis Williams
Otis Williams is an American baritone singer. Nicknamed "Big Daddy", he has also acted as a sporadic songwriter and record producer. Williams co-founded the Motown vocal group The Temptations in early 1960 as The Elgins, a group in which he continues to perform...
and the Temptations along with their manager Shelly Berger.
As a solo artist/saxophonist has worked in genres from straight ahead jazz to grime, performing front and centre alongside various artists including Sway DaSafo
Sway DaSafo
Derek Andrew Safo is a Ghanaian British musician who uses the stage names Sway DaSafo or Sway. He is signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik record label and he is also a producer, establishing DCypha Productions.-Childhood:...
, Bashy
Bashy
Ashley Thomas , better known by his stage name Bashy, is an English recording artist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2007 after the release of his controversial track "Black Boys".-Early life:...
, Omar Lye-Fook
Omar Lye-Fook
Omar Lye-Fook and known as Omar, is an internationally acclaimed British soul singer, songwriter and musician. Omar grew up in Canterbury, Kent. He learned his craft classically, playing the trumpet, piano and percussion. Omar also spent two years at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and...
, Soweto Kinch
Soweto Kinch
Soweto Kinch is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper.Born in London, England to a Barbadian father, who is a playwright, and British-Jamaican mother, who is an actress, Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at Allfarthing Primary School, Wandsworth, SW London...
, Alexander O'Neal
Alexander O'Neal
Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer. He is best-known for the songs "If You Were Here Tonight" and "Fake", and the duets with Cherrelle, "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This".-Biography:...
, Mica Paris
Mica Paris
Mica Paris is an English soul singer, radio and television presenter, and occasional actress. Her forename is pronounced Misha.-Beginnings:Paris' roots are in soul and gospel music...
, Terri Walker
Terri Walker
Terri Walker is an English R&B and soul singer–songwriter. Walker has released three albums in the United Kingdom, Untitled, L.O.V.E, and I Am. She also provided the majority of the vocals for Shanks & Bigfoot's debut album Swings & Roundabouts...
, Dean Fraser, Sonny Bradshaw and Desi Jones, to name but a few. In late 2008, she toured the UK, opening for The Temptations.
YolanDa's pivotal performances of 2010 included an invitation to take part in PanJazz 2010 on its transfer from the Lincoln Center in New York to the UK This saw her performing alongside musicians including Etienne Charles and Leon Foster Thomas. Her November 19 concert at Indig02 at the 02 Arena, London continued her record of musically excellent and uniquely entertaining sold out events.
On December 2, 2010, YolanDa was presented with an Honorary Doctor of the Arts by the University of East London in a ceremony at the Barbican Theatre, London.
For YolanDa music has always been a theraputic and enabling force which promotes 360 degree communication and empowering links across all humankind. In striving to share and involve the many rather than an elite few through the wonder of music, YolanDa was honoured to become a Celebrity Ambassador for HRH The Prince of Wales and His Prince’s Trust Charity.
YolanDa is a Yamaha endorsed artist and was also appointed the UK's class band ambassador in February 2011. Yamaha Class Band is a whole-class wind band teaching method, currently being piloted, until July 2012, in a collaboration between Yamaha UK and two of the UK's leading music services.
YolanDa is also a Patron of The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians,which provides outstanding progression and development opportunities to young people who demonstrate significant musical talent and commitment.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Category | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music Awards | |||
| 2008 | WIEA Awards | Best Musician 2008 | |
| Urban Music Awards Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually... |
Best Jazz Act 2008 | ||
| Music of Black Origin Awards | Best Jazz Act 2008 | ||
| 2009 | Marlborough Jazz Festival | Best Performer 2009 | |
| Urban Music Awards Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually... |
Best Jazz Act 2009 | ||
| Urban Music Awards Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually... |
Most Inspiring Act 2009 | ||
| Music of Black Origin Awards | Best Jazz Act 2009 | ||