Kelley Hurt
Music is a family affair for jazz singer Kelley Hurt. Her heritage takes her back—way back—to songs of the past and sitting around the house singing with her family. “Nothing could compare to hearing all of my relatives raising a hymn together,” she says. “It was about the feeling you got from being together.”
Raindance was produced by Ross Rice and was released October 2003 on Archer Records. Recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Raindance is a fresh mix of Memphis style jazz and R&B. It features Chris Parker on piano, Jonathon Wires on bass, Renardo Ward on drums and Doug Garrison (Iguanas) on percussion.
Her musical accomplishments include winning the Phillips Award for Best New Artist from the Memphis chapter of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She was a lead vocalist for the band DDT a jazz fusion and funk band featuring Luther and Cody Dickinson, Paul Taylor, Jim Spake and Chris Parker.
Kelley has also worked with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, recording the song “Could Woulda Shoulda” which was produced by Jim Dickinson at Phillips Recording Service. She has toured Italy with the Memphis Blues Revue and has also performed internationally with Bruce Willis and the Accelerators.
The rich musical legacy of Memphis has had a big influence on Kelley but she also listened to such national performers as Shirley Horne, Diane Reeves and Cassandra Wilson. Kelley writes her own lyrics, sings the melody and then adds the chords. OnRaindance she wrote “The Art of Love and War”, “I Can Come To You”, “Black Widow”, and “How Can I Let You Go”.
Kelley provided backing vocals on Lucero’s 1372 Overton Park on Universal Records / Republic Records (2009).
