Guildhall Jazz Festival: Jacqui Dankworth

Jacqui Dankworth is one of the most highly regarded vocalists in the UK. Known primarily as a jazz singer, Jacqui’s unique musical palette also draws on folk, soul, classical, blues, and other influences. Her concert appearances and numerous recordings showcase her virtuosic, seemingly effortless mastery of a variety of genres. 

Jacqui’s new album Windmills (“…one of the year’s most captivating jazz offerings” - Peter Quinn, Jazzwise) is a vocal tour-de-force of classic songs by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Sérgio Mendes and others, and features some of the very best of UK jazz and classical musicians, including the BBC Big Band, the Carducci String Quartet, and the Bedazzle! string section, with arrangements by pianist Charlie Wood. 

Recent recording projects include “Rocking Horse Road”, an album project with The Brodsky String Quartet (2022, Chandos Records) and filming/recording at Abbey Road Studios with artist Sonia Boyce for the original performance art piece “Feeling Her Way”, which won the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice Biennale and toured the UK and Canada. 

Television appearances include the BBC TV’s “Jazz 625: One Night Only” with Gregory Porter, Joshua Redman & others, as well as live performances and interviews on BBC Breakfast, the Paul O’Grady Show, and The One Show. 

Jacqui made her Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2023 with her one-woman show “Siren Songs” (***** from Louise Rogers, Three Weeks).  Other notable concert appearances include New Year’s Eve with the Liverpool Philharmonic, a special performance of her “Songs Of Stage and Screen” programme with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, a headline concert at Cadogan Hall in London with members the RPO and the BBC Big Band, and as guest vocalist on Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night.  Jacqui appeared as Eleanor in The Opera Company’s production of Alban Berg’s “Lulu” (entitled “American Lulu”) with the London Sinfonietta, with tour dates including the Edinburgh Festival, the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria, and the Young Vic in London. 

Jacqui is also an accomplished actor, having performed leading parts with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and in London’s West End.  Highlights include the role of Cinderella in Steven Sondheim’s London premier of “Into The Woods”, “Sophisticated Ladies” (a celebration of the music of Duke Ellington) and “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” with the RSC. 

Jacqui appeared as Rosa in the second series of “The Borgias” starring Jeremy Irons (Showtime TV) and made a cameo appearance in the film “Les Miserables” directed by Tom Hooper.  In Oct./Nov. 2021 Jacqui appeared in a new musical adaptation of “Indecent Proposal” at Southwark Playhouse, London. 

Jacqui is constantly touring with her own band and has performed and recorded with a diverse array of celebrated musicians, including the Carducci String Quartet, Courtney Pine, Marvin Hamlisch, Paloma Faith, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Gretchen Parlato, Clare Teale, Georgie Fame, David Gordon, Charlie Wood, Gregory Porter, the London Symphony Orchestra, and legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea. 

Jacqui was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to music.