| Kim Nalley | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Kim Rene Nalley |
| Origin: | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genre: | Jazz, blues, folk, swing |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter, club owner, writer, dancer |
| Years Active: | 1987–present |
| Label: | Rounder, City Hall, CE Jazz & Blues |
Kim Rene Nalley (born 1969)[1] is an American jazz and blues singer with a 3½ octave range.[2]
Raised in New Haven, Connecticut,[1] [3] Nalley is from a musical family that includes jazz drummer and photographer Reggie Jackson, she received piano lessons from her great-grandmother. She attended Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) in New Haven.[4]
Nalley switched to jazz shortly after moving to San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1980s, where she attended University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). She received from UC Berkeley a B.A. degree in History and sang in the Cal Big Band.[5] "She studied classical music and theatre and, while attending college, she gained important experience singing in local clubs and jam sessions."[6]
While performing weekly at the Alta Plaza, director Michael Tilson Thomas discovered Nalley, recorded her in concert, and hired her to sing a program of Gershwin tunes with the San Francisco Symphony. She began performing with the Johnny Nocturne Band, charting at No. 12 on the Gavin list and embarking on a national and international touring schedule that included the Mountain Stage. She also performed at the Teatro Zinzanni as Madame Zinzanni.
After spending a couple of years living in Switzerland, she returned to San Francisco to own and run the Jazz at Pearl's North Beach night club during 2003–2008.[7]