Patrick, Mckenzie, and I received the jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon as the subject of our Folly poster designs. Our first step in the curating of this poster was to create a mood board. This mood board compiled colors, textures, words, typography, and a few objects that expressed the music and persona of Nnenna Freelon.
Biography
Nnenna Chinyere Pierce was born in Cambridge, MA in 1954. She first dabbled with
her vocal talents in a church gospel choir as a child. She did not, however, even begin thinking of a music career until her later 30’s after she had already married and had children. She studied at Simmons College in Boston and received a degree in health care administration. With her freshly acquired degree she joined the social services work force for the Durham, North Carolina hospital corporation.
In 1979, Nnenna married the architect Phillip Freelon, thus changing her name.
A few years, and three children later, she finally began considering a music career.
She trained under Yusef Lateef and harnessed her vocal splendor by listening
and singing to jazz horn players. After learning and singing jazz independently for seven years, she came to a massive turning point in her career when she met Ellis Marsalis.
In 1990, the two found each other at the Southern Arts Federation’s jazz meeting where Marsalis was doing A&R work for Dr. George Butler of Columbia Records. Butler was on the search for a female singer at the time and was delighted to come across such a
vocal splendor like Nnenna. Two years later she was signed to Columbia Records and made her musical debut with a self-titled album. This album was absorbed by the masses with mixed feelings. Critics and jazz fans alike commended and condemned
her imitation of Sarah Vaughn’s vocalistic style. Nnenna recorded two more albums
with Columbia Records before parting ways with the label to more openly explore her own style.
Nnenna signed with Concord Records in 1996 and earned her first of five Grammy nominations with her album Shaking Free. She further expanded her horizons in 2000 with the self-produced album Soulcall. The album earned her two more Grammy nominations for her résumé. Over the next ten years she recorded a hand full of
albums two of them being cover albums for Stevie Wonder and Billie Holiday the latter of which tallied her another Grammy nomination. Her latest album Homefree was released in 2010.
Nnenna’s influences include Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simone, Betty Carter, Billie Holiday Stevie Wonder and several other vocal performers. Her vocal style takes on a contemporary and pop flavored vibe that soothes the ear with a smooth and elegant vocal range. Her roots in gospel and soul music remained evident throughout her career. The musical counterpoint to her vocals ranges from slow tempo and drone of the blues to the upbeat tempo of swing.
In addition to her career as a performance artist, Nnenna has also done extensive
work with her Babysong workshop project. Launched at Duke University Medical Center, this program stresses the importance of parents singing to their children to promote brain development.
In addition to five Grammy nominations, Nnenna has received the Eubie Blake Award, the Billie Holiday Award and performed live at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Mood Board
Cool colors dominate the board with interruptions of warm bursts of color. The smooth cool colors suggest the steady flow of jazz and blues in the music that accompanies Nnenna's vocals. The bursts of warm color reflect the beauty, grace, and power of Nnenna's vocals. In a way her voice is a burst of light and energy amongst the slow steady and calm jazz she sings to.
The photos chosen for the mood board reflect Nnenna's vocals and her stature as a glamorous soul/R&B singer. Shiny and dominantly golden objects suggest the glamour, while the microphones stress the dominance of her vocals in her music.
The typography chosen expresses the elegance of her stage presence. The type also suggests the sophistication of her voice and vocal control.
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