Denyse Pearson
Her name alone is synonymous with jazz class and style. She is graceful and poised and you feel that voice, the diction is precise. Her musical color is breathtaking. She is a native of Washington, D.C. who was nurtured in the jazz tradition at a very early age. Her father, Colón was an accomplished singer in the style of Nat King Cole. Her mother, Pauline deserves much of the credit for Denyse’s inspiration to follow her music dreams. With Denyse at her side, mom took her to countless star-studded evenings of music at the famed Howard Theatre. The family later moved to New Orleans, La. where jazz music became her steady diet in public schools where she learned to play the coronet and flute.
Denyse attended Xavier University in New Orleans, and is a graduate of Howard University and the University of Maryland. She continued her musical studies privately with Roosevelt Jackson who encouraged her to stay in the jazz idiom.
He introduced her to the public in many performances for the Washington Hospital Center community. She enrolled in the Jazz Piano Vocal Workshop at the University of Maryland led by Ron Elliston and Ronnie Wells and accompanied Ronnie on a European tour to Amsterdam, France, Switzerland, and Norway where she got a taste of performing to audiences abroad. A cameo appearance in the film documentary on jazz vocalists Magic in the Moment followed. Shortly afterwards, Denyse studied with University of the District of Columbia (UDC) educator renowned trombonist, and Director of the UDC Jazz Ensemble Calvin Jones who aptly nicknamed her “Ms. Finewine” for her smooth and sweet vocal style.
Denyse has worked with many groups over the years and made appearances at varied venues such as Fort Dupont Park, One Step Down, Moore’s Love & Peace, Mr. Y’s, Lenny’s, Trumpet’s, Charlie Byrd’s Georgetown club, Blues Alley, Jazz Night at Westminster, the Carnegie Library, and aboard the SS Norway North Sea jazz cruise, and recently at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the Millennium Stage with her Gentlemen of Distinction. Notable career highlights include performing with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra at President Bush’s Inaugural Ball and being invited to the stage at Catalina’s Bar & Grill in Los Angeles by jazz icon, Joe Williams. In 1989, Denyse released her first self-produced effort entitled “For The Love of It”. Jazz great, Shirley Horn and local radio took note. Denyse relishes performances on stages shared with jazz ancestors such as Nap Turner, Mary Jefferson, bassists Ketter Betts, and Major Holley. Carrying on the jazz tradition, Denyse continues performing the great jazz standards and also composes her own original songs. Like finewine, distinctive, smooth, and sweet, our treasure Denyse Pearson is a voice and talent you will not soon forget.
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