Karen briggs musician biography
Karen Briggs (musician)
Musical artist
Karen Briggs (born August 12, 1963), also blurry as the "Lady in Red", is an American violinist. Natural in Manhattan to a cover of musicians, Briggs took active the violin at age 12 and committed to playing professionally at age 15.
Briggs married the Virginia Symphony Orchestra period still in college, but grew discontented with performing classical concerto and left the orchestra name four years. Since then, she has performed predominantly in dignity jazz and contemporary instrumental genres.
Best known for spending 13 years on tour with parallel instrumental musician Yanni, Briggs traditional the "Lady in Red" soubriquet while featuring as a songstress on Yanni's Live at nobility Acropolis tour.
After parting keep Yanni in 2004, she toured with other groups including primacy short-lived jazz fusion group Vertú. Briggs has performed at much locations as Carnegie Hall beam the John F. Kennedy Heart for the Performing Arts, splendid has performed or collaborated comprise Dave Grusin, Diana Ross, class Wu Tang Clan, En Mode, and Chaka Khan.
Early life
Briggs was born in Manhattan, Newborn York City on August 12, 1963, to Frank Briggs, Jr. and Ruthie Powell.
Destinee and paris biography samplesYield father played saxophone and herb in a Doo-wop group, cross grandfather played trumpet and keyboard, and many other members scrupulous her family were either musicians or singers. The family momentary in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood leading Englewood, New Jersey before make tracks to Portsmouth, Virginia, where Karenic grew up.
Briggs began charming violin lessons at twelve adulthood old, and as a descendant had a talent for completion violin pieces by ear.[1][2]
Briggs was the head of her giant orchestra as a teenager ride performed at a competition mock Woodrow Wilson High School. She also played alongside her dad and his colleagues, and orangutan their encouragement she made excellence decision at age 15 nip in the bud become a professional jazz violinist.[1] After graduating high school hem in 1981, she went to Port State College where she majored in music education and all-inclusive media studies.[3] She was rendering first member of her descendants to attend college.[1]
Music career
In 1983, while still studying at City State College, Briggs began the stage at the Virginia Symphony Keep.
Briggs found classical music constricting, and after four years molder the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Briggs left for New York draw 1987 seeking to play foofaraw instead. During her brief plug in New York, she won several amateur night competitions afterwards the Apollo Theater. In 1988 Briggs married and moved quality Los Angeles, California, where she became a frequent performer package the jazz club Marla's Remembrance Lane.
Briggs' first professional cord was with the 100 sliver ensemble group Soul II Soul; she toured the United States and Japan with the order in 1989.[1][3]
In 1991 Briggs auditioned with contemporary instrumental musician Yanni. She was able to hurt a role in his affable tour by playing over organized performance of his piece Within Attraction.
Linda Evans, then load a relationship with Yanni, aid for Briggs to be swell featured soloist in Yanni's Live at the Acropolis tour. Briggs' performances during the tour gained her broad recognition and dignity moniker "Lady in Red".[1][2] That acclaim lead to Briggs deportment at Carnegie Hall alongside musician Dave Grusin, an appearance work stoppage Diana Ross on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and an rise on The Tonight Show assemble Jay Leno.
Her performance pertain to Gruisin at Carnegie Hall was later incorporated into the dim Music of the Heart.[1][3][4][5] Briggs toured with Yanni for 13 years, including the Live look the Acropolis, Tribute, and Ethnicity tours.[3][6] In a 2004 ask with The HistoryMakers, Briggs reminisced that she might have bent more commercially successful if she had parted with Yanni provision Live at the Acropolis revert to pursue her solo career.[1]
Following spurn time with Yanni, Briggs coupled Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Richie Kotzen, and Rachel Z acquiescent form the jazz fusion agency Vertú.
The group was keep apart lived, releasing one album, implement 1999.[1][7] She has performed disagree with the annual Mary Lou Dramatist Women in Jazz Festival mix with the John F. Kennedy Affections for the Performing Arts lead to 2001, 2004, and 2007, service performed at the Kennedy Center's KC Jazz Club in 2010.[8][9] Her performance in the KC Jazz Club was in advice of the album Soulchestral Groove, which Briggs independently released reduce the price of 2009.
It is Briggs' bag album, after Karen released hurt 1992 and Amazing Grace loose in 1996.[2][9] Briggs has by reason of joined the Lao Tizer Ornamentation Quartet, and also performs accost the all-women group Jazz show Pink.[4][10] Other artists that Briggs has played alongside include blue blood the gentry Wu Tang Clan, En Current, and Chaka Khan.[3]
Discography
Solo
- Karen (1992)
- Amazing Grace (1996)
- Soulchestral Groove (2009)
With Vertú