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Tracey Whitney
A former Ray Charles “Raelette”, Tracey Whitney is a singer/songwriter/producer who performs her own brand of classic jazz and sophisticated soul.
About Me
A former “Raelette” with the legendary Ray Charles, L.A. native Tracey Whitney began
performing with her family singing group, The Whitney Family, debuting at the famed
nightspot “The Coconut Grove” when she was 11 years old. For the next 15 years her family
toured, recorded (they had a Billboard Magazine Top Singles Pick), did numerous TV shows,
performed in Vegas, Tahoe and more before she was tapped to tour with “Brotha’ Ray”. She
spent 5 years singing solo in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Tokushima Japan, and doing session
work for Japanese superstars Sing Like Talking, Namie Amuro and Takiko Katau before
returning to her roots in Los Angeles. Since relocating to Albuquerque in 2012, she’s been
thrilling audiences throughout the city with her unique brand of classic jazz and sophisticated
soul in some of the city’s most notable venues, including a residency with her show, The Art
of Jazz with Tracey Whitney, in the Hotel Andaluz’s Casablanca Room, which was crowned
“The Best Place for Jazz” in Albuquerque the Magazine. She’s also performed in concert for
the Santa Fe Bandstand, St John’s College “Music on the Hill, Route 66 Summerfest, the New
Mexico Jazz Workshop’s Women's Voices and Ladies Sing the Blues series at the
Albuquerque Museum, as well as her Nancy Wilson tribute “Guess Who I Saw Today” at
both the African American Performing Arts Center and the Outpost Performance Space.
Tracey has opened concerts for contemporary jazz stars Nathan East, Marc Antoine, Euge
Groove, Will Donato, Darren Rahn and Julian Vaughn. Her third CD “Live at the Outpost
Performance Space” a New Mexico Music Awards nominee for “Best Vocal Performance.”
Other notable performances this year included the New Mexico Jazz Workshop's Women's
Voices concert in the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater, The Outpost Performance Space,
the Botanic Garden concert series, and the African American Performing Arts Center's
”Afriquerque” concert series. Tracey was the 2024 “Solo Jazz Performer” winner of the New
Mexico Entertainment Awards, and received a 2024 Albuquerque Film + Music Experience
festival special award honoring her “Contributions to Music in Albuquerque”. She is currently
recording her 4th CD, “Anything Goes”, set for release in 2025.
Tracey served as president of the Musicians’ Association of Albuquerque, Local 618 of the
American Federation of Musicians from Jan 2017-Dec 2023, representing 250 musicians
comprising the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, and El Paso
Symphony Orchestra. She is the president of the Board of Directors of the African American
Performing Arts Center Foundation, a voting member of The National Academy of
Performing Arts and Sciences (aka The Grammy Awards), a Music Commissioner for the
State of New Mexico appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, an Albuquerque Film +
Music Experience Advisory Board member, a Community Advisory Committee member of
KHFM Classical Radio, and a jazz vocal instructor at the New Mexico School for the Arts in
Santa Fe.
For more on her background, visit www.babydollentertainment.com
