Nnenna Freelon

Nnenna Freelon, is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger. She has been nominated for six Grammy Awards for her vocal work, and has performed and toured with such top artists as Ray Charles, Ellis Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall, Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, just to name a few.

Freelon was born Chinyere Nnenna Pierce in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was raised, to Charles and Frances Pierce. As a young woman, she sang extensively in her community and the Union Baptist Church and at St. Paul AME. She has a brother Melvin and a sister named Debbie. Nnenna graduated from Simmons College in Boston, with a degree in health care administration. For a while she worked for the Durham County Hospital Corporation, Durham, North Carolina. From the Kennedy Center interview with Nnenna

Source: Wikipedia