Camille Thurman and Darrell Green
Camille Thurman
An accomplished composer, esteemed saxophonist, vocalist, and unique interpreter of the jazz tradition, Camille Thurman is quickly becoming one of the leading standard bearers of the art form. Her distinct musical approach to classic and original repertoire, which highlights her craft as a powerhouse singer and instrumentalist, is a captivating blend of tradition and innovation. She makes a considerable and dynamic contribution to the legacy of jazz while paying tribute to its heroes through her music.
The New York City native has amassed several distinctive honors for her musicianship: NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Jazz Album, recipient of the SOUTH Arts Creative Jazz Road Artistic Residency, Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll Nominee for Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist and Vocalist and Rising New Artist (2023, 2022, 2021 & 2020), two-time winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award, a recipient of the Fulbright Scholars Cultural Ambassador Grant and Chamber Music of America Performance Plus Grant (Sponsored by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation) among others. Thurman also has five full-length recordings as a leader to her credit. Her most recent project, “Confluence: Vol 1,” is a collaboration with master drummer Darrell Green and his quartet.
Thurman made history, becoming the first woman in 30 years to tour, record, and perform full-time internationally with the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as a saxophonist/woodwind doubler (2018-2020 season). A respected bandleader, she has headlined numerous notable concert venues and jazz festivals worldwide, including the Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress, and the Rose Theater. Her international recognition is a testament to the universal appeal of her music and the profound impact she has made on the global jazz community.
Thurman was chosen by the U.S. State Department under the Fulbright Scholarship grant to tour and perform in Paraguay and Nicaragua as a bandleader. She was recently selected by American Music Abroad and the U.S. State Department to tour and perform in Africa as a U.S. Cultural Ambassador in Cameroon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mauritania. In May 2020, Camille founded “The Haven Hang: Young Lioness Musician Q&A/ Virtual Mentorship Series.” The Haven Hang serves as a virtual and in-person mentorship series for young women musicians, with an initiative to mentor, aid, and support young women pursuing music careers in the performing arts. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Jazz Performance at McGill University.
Darrell Green
Over a career that’s spanned more than two decades, Green has become a master technician and prolific sideman, sharing stages with everyone from vibraphonist Stefon Harris to saxophonist, Red Holloway and now occasionally with his wife, Camille Thurman. Though jazz is his primary focus, Green is conversant in every genre from straight-ahead jazz to Latin and West African music.
Oakland-raised Green has been playing drums for as long as he can remember. In fact, his first birthday present was a toy drum. When he was 7 years old, Green landed his first professional gig at Cosmopolitan Baptist Church. Four years later he matriculated in the Young Musicians Program at UC Berkeley and apprenticed under Kent Reed. “He would take me to his gigs. I would help him set up so I got exposed to the real life of a musician,” says Green. During high school Green was a section leader in both the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra and the Bay Area Wind Symphony. Also, he played drums in the Castlemont High School Jazz Band and backed the Castleers choir.
After high school, Green attended the California Institute of the Arts on a scholarship, where he majored in jazz studies with an emphasis on African percussion. Also, he earned a scholarship and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, where he began a comprehensive study of jazz performance. Throughout college Green played a trio gig at San Francisco’s Club Deluxe, which featured Marcus Shelby on bass and Howard Wiley on saxophone. He toured with Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, and also formed a trio with guitarist Julian Lage and bassist David Ewell. He later joined the Dave Ellis Quintet and performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival among other venues. Green has become known for his bedrock groove and inexhaustible creativity. He has developed a style that’s rooted in modern post-bop, but retains elements of his gospel and classical lineage. He is now a sought-after musician for both session work and live shows.