Nancie Banks

Multi-talented Nancie Banks was born into a musical family. The four-octave range of her vocalist dad secured him a spot in the choir at church, while her mother played the piano. Banks' mother began giving her instruction on the instrument before she'd turned five years old. When she was older and living in New York, Banks became a student of Afro-Cuban jazz innovator Alberto Socarras, spiritual composer Edward S. Boatner, Barry Harris, and Billy Taylor's Jazzmobile Workshops. Her debut in the Big Apple occurred with Harris during one of his concerts. Banks' break came when Charlie Byrd hired her to sing with his big band. Also through Byrd, the singer first met her future husband, Clarence Banks, a trombonist. Banks went on to establish several quintets and quartets and led her ensembles in performances throughout the city, while also finding time to sing with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. She also performed with Walter Davis Jr., Dexter Gordon, Michael Max Fleming, Bob Cunningham, Duke Jordan, Walter Booker, Charlie Persip, Sadik Hakim, C. Sharpe, John Hicks, Woody Shaw, Bross Townsend, Jon Hendricks, and Walter Bishop Jr., among others. Banks, whose birth name is Nancy Manzuk, was born in West Virginia. She spent her formative years in Pittsburgh, PA, before heading to New York. She earned a jazz scholarship in 1989 to attend New School University. While under the direction of Cecil Bridgewater in the university's big band, Banks pulled together her own orchestra. The Nancie Banks Orchestra has performed in a variety of New York nightspots and at numerous festivals and other events. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts asked her to bring her 19-piece orchestra to Washington, D.C., for an appearance at the center's Mary Lou Williams Women's Jazz Festival. Waves of Peace, Banks' first album issued by Consolidated Artists, garnered critical acclaim as well as a nomination from the Village Voice for inclusion on its list of Best Jazz Records of the Year in 1993. Cadence magazine also included the release among the year's best. Two years later, Bert's Blues made more waves and earned nods from the magazines Cadence and Coda as one of the year's finest offerings. Airplay followed in countries around the world, including Japan, Brazil, South Africa, the Ukraine, Germany, and France. In addition to her work as a singer and composer, Banks is also a lyricist, arranger, and producer. She offers high school and college clinics, as well as private instruction. Banks also works in the movie industry in the capacity of music preparation supervisor. For Broadway musical productions, she is a music copyist. ~ Linda Seida