Grace Chung

Originally from Hong Kong, Grace Chung first began singing jazz more than ten years ago in Sydney Australia, where she grew up. Since then, she has led her own trios and performed with big bands in Sydney, Hong Kong, New York, Boston and Washington DC. After some years with her trio on the Sydney jazz scene, she started a residency at the Swing Jazz Club in Hong Kong, summer of 1997. This led to a series of shows at the Conrad Hotel, Hong Kong, winter 1997. Meanwhile, Grace started graduate school at MIT, and along with Tien-yi Lee, co-founded WhoSheBe, an all female jazz combo. WhoSheBe featured New England bassist Jane Wang and the now Tokyo sensation Akiko Iwase. During the years, WhoSheBe appeared frequently at venues in New England and New York including the Metronome, and the Living Room in NYC, Jazzmasters in Rhode Island, and Les Zygomates, Bob the Chef's, the Good Life, The Improv Asylum and the Elephant Walk in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1999, they recorded a live CD on Jazz with Eric in the Evening, New England's best-known jazz radio show. This was followed by a second CD, Bygones, released in 2001.

After Grace graduated with her PhD in Computer Science ( MIT), she moved to the Baltimore/Washington area and made her debut under Owlsong Productions with the Lewine-Kamman Xtet at Mr. Henry's, the venue where Roberta Flack once launched her career. This blossomed into a close collaboration with Washington's most talented jazz guitarist and composer, John Kamman. Grace and Armand Ntep, a rising jazz star from Camaroon, were lead vocalists in John Kamman's Evoluations series, a ground breaking contemporary piece melding jazz, African and classical influences. John and Grace's work culminated in the release of Liking You Liking Me, released in 2005. The album features the performances of some of Washington's most gifted classical, and jazz cats: Flaco Woods (percussion), Alan Lewine (bass), Marty Knepp (marimba and vibraphone), Phillipe Depontet (percusion), Jodi Beder (cello), and Blair Goins (tuba).

Grace launched in Sydney in 2006 with a sold out show at Bar Me with the Hall Kawai Band. Her engagements have included an appearance at the Basement with Steve Morrison.

Grace's vocals draw inspiration from great jazz singers such as Sarah Vaughan, Blossom Dearie, Carmen McCrae, Shirley Horn, Anita O'Day, Shirley Bassey, Betty Carter, Astrud Gilberto and many others.

Tags