Norma Winstone

Norma Winstone was born in London and first attracted attention in the late sixties when she shared the bill at Ronnie Scott's club with Roland Kirk. Although she began her career singing jazz standards, she became involved in the avant garde movement, exploring the use of the voice in an experimental way and evolving her own wordless approach to improvisation. She joined groups led by Mike Westbrook, Michael Garrick and sang with John Surman, Kenny Wheeler, Michael Gibbs and John Taylor, and worked extensively with many of the major European names and visiting Americans. In 1971 she was voted top singer in the Melody Maker Jazz Poll and subsequently recorded her own album Edge od Time for Decca, which although long deleted has now been re-released as a CD on the Disconforme label.

Web Side: http://www.normawinstone.com/biog.htm

Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 september 1941, in Bow East London) is a British jazz singer and lyricist. In a career spanning over forty years she is best known for her Wordless improvisations.
Winstone began singing in bands around Dagenham in the early 1960s, before joining Michael Garrick's band in 1968. Her first recording came the following year, with Joe Harriott. She recorded one album under her own name in 1972.
Winstone has worked with most of her peers in British jazz including Garrick, Mike Westbrook and her former husband, the pianist John aylor. With Taylor and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler she has performed and recorded three albums for ECM as a member of the trio Azimuth between 1977 and 1980. In addition she made an album with the American pianist Jimmy Rowles (Well Kept Secret, 1993).
Norma Winstone was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2007 for her services to Music.

WEb Side: http://www.normawinstone.com/