Tracey Whitney

Member Since: 2026 | Location: Albuquerque | Page Views: 49

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About Me

The Art of Jazz with Tracey Whitney band leader and owner of Babydoll's House of Jazz & Blues, Albuquerque’s premier jazz nightclub.

Los Angeles transplant Tracey Whitney began performing with her family singing group, The Whitney Family, debuting at the famed nightspot “The Coconut Grove” when she was just 11 years old. For the next 15 years her family toured and recorded - they received an Emmy Award nomination for “Early In The Morning” from the 1977 film “Minstrel Man”, while their album, “Airways”, featured “Let Me Be Your Woman”, a Billboard magazine Top Singles Pick. They did numerous TV shows, most notably The Midnight Special, performed in Vegas, Tahoe and more before she was tapped to tour with “The Genius of Soul”, Ray Charles as a “Raelette” for his 1991 Pepsi “You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-Huh!” tour. She then spent 5 years singing solo in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Tokushima Japan before returning to her roots and the stage in L.A. 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 band, 'The Art of Jazz with Tracey Whitney', in the Hotel Andaluz’s Casablanca Room, which was crowned “The Best Place for Jazz” by 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', including the curated concerts “A Dangerous Creation: A Tribute to Johnny Otis” and “A 60’s Summer Suite”, both co-written, produced and performed with singer-songwriter Zenobia, at the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater. Her self-produced concert “Guess Who I Saw Today?” honoring family friend (and vocal muse) Miss Nancy Wilson, was performed at both the African American Performing Arts Center and the Outpost Performance Space. Tracey is a voting member of The National Academy of Performing Arts and Sciences (aka The Grammy Awards) and has performed in concert with contemporary jazz stars Nathan East, Marc Antoine, Euge Groove, Will Donato, Brian Simpson, Darren Rahn and Julian Vaughn. She’s the winner of the 2024 New Mexico Entertainment Awards “Top Musical Artist Solo Jazz/Blues” and received a 2024 Albuquerque Film + Music Experience Festival (AFMX) award for her “Contributions to Music in Albuquerque”, while her 3rd CD, “Live at the Outpost Performance Space” was a New Mexico Music Awards nominee for Best Vocal Performance. Her exceptional career also includes serving as President of the Musicians Association of Albuquerque, Local 618 of the American Federation of Musicians, representing the musicians of the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Fe Opera and El Paso Symphony Orchestra; President of the Board of Directors of the African American Performing Arts Center Foundation (AAPAC); a two-term Music Commissioner for the State of New Mexico appointed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham; Advisory Board member of the AFMX; and Community Advisory Committee member of KHFM Classical Radio. She was the first Jazz Vocal Instructor at the New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe, where she fell in love with teaching and was inspired to launch “Next Gen Jazz” at Babydoll’s, where she’s begun nurturing the next generation of jazz singers and musicians. In May of 2026 Tracey realized a lifelong dream of owning her own nightclub, Babydoll’s House of Jazz & Blues, where she and her band, The Art of Jazz with Tracey Whitney, featuring pianist Sid Fendley, bassist Jack Hanan, drummer Wayne ”Chuckles” Johnson, and guitarist Dan Dowling, perform every Friday and Saturday night along with special guests.

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My Jazz Story

I love jazz because... Jazz is life! I was first exposed to jazz... as an 11-year old. I met [musician name]... I toured with Ray Charles as a Raelette. The best show I ever attended was...Wattstax when I was a child. Changed my life! The first jazz record I bought was... Green Onions by Booker T & The MG's when I was a little girl. My advice to new listeners... Close your eyes...