Fridays can be fun — especially when you decide to spend it at the monthly First Friday mixer at the Barnes Foundation. Aside from having access to their impressive art collection, the mixer includes cocktails, light fare, and music.
This Friday’s musical guest is acclaimed jazz vocalist and Philadelphia native Denise King, who will pay tribute to the “lady legends of song.” Her performance will feature a rich tapestry of blues, jazz, pop, and soul classics by timeless voices including Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Amy Winehouse.
“I’ll be doing two sets on Oct. 3,” King explains. “The first set will be at 6:30 p.m., and I’ll be doing a mix of standards by some of my favorite singers, the classy singers of jazz.”
For her second set, beginning at 7:45 p.m., King says she’ll devote it to R&B, pop, and soul. “I love to see people dance, and that kind of music will allow the audience to do so. There’s a theory that says jazz is just for sitting and listening to, but I like to help dispel that. So I’ll probably do some Chaka Khan and Tina Turner — whatever moves me when I get there and see the audience,” she adds. “I’ll just go out there and perform what I feel will work for everyone.”
King was born and raised in West Philadelphia, and at a very young age focused on visual arts, fashion design, and dance. Fond of singing and dancing at her high school, King was asked one day to audition to dance with Philadanco when the company was initially formed. But after high school, she chose to attend Delaware County Community College and then pursue a career in healthcare.
Looking back now at those early years, King says she had no interest in becoming a professional performer. At 13, she was introduced to jazz by an uncle who had an extensive collection of jazz LPs, and a cousin who had a love of Nina Simone.
“I had no formal musical training,” King shares. “My studies consisted of listening to the jazz greats of the day, from people like Ella Fitzgerald, Nat ‘King’ Cole, and Frank Sinatra.”
“One of my favorites was Frank Sinatra, and every week I’d listen to ‘Fridays With Frank’ and ‘Sundays With Sinatra’ on the radio,” King says. “So I never had any formal musical training. Actually, everything I learned about music and singing came from listening to records and the radio.”
But in those days, King concentrated on marriage, motherhood, and working in the medical field — with some singing on the side at local venues. It was while working at various venues that she met some musical legends like Bootsie Barnes, Lex Humphries, Cecil Payne, and others.
It was through them that King learned the importance of having something to say every time she stepped up to the microphone.
“I began to learn the importance of telling a story through the words and music and not just singing the song,” King shares. “I’m a sucker for the lyrics and not interested in vocal gymnastics. I want to hear the story the writer has to tell.”
But one day, after being divorced, raising three kids on her own, working all day at a hospital, and all night singing at a club, King knew she had had enough.
“I realized it was time to make a decision between my two involvements with medicine: one by helping others in a hospital setting or the other by making music, which I also consider a form of much-needed medicine,” she says. “And music won out.”
Today, she continues, “people know me mainly as a jazz singer, but once I reached a certain age, I made up my mind to sing whatever I enjoyed singing. I was pretty shy as a child and music gave me a way to express myself in ways I couldn’t in everyday conversation. I was always happy to please audiences but now I’m happy to please myself as well.”
Obviously, King is now pleasing everyone worldwide. She boasts a powerhouse performance career and has headlined around the world in places like New York, Paris, Turkey, Brazil, and Africa, among others.
With a career that spans more than four decades, King is poised to open the next chapter with a new album titled *People Get Ready*, which is soon to be released.
“Today I wouldn’t trade what I do for anything in the world,” King confesses. “And one of my biggest dreams is to one day play Carnegie Hall!”
For more information on Denise King and her performance at the Barnes’ First Friday mixer, visit [www.barnesfoundation.org](http://www.barnesfoundation.org).
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https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/music/denise-king-brings-a-tapestry-of-blues-jazz-and-soul-to-the-barnes/article_596a77a2-a031-485f-aac3-1709096c07ac.html
