“Best male jazz singer in Britain” - Evening standard.
Winner of the London Jazz Awards for best Vocalist 2010Born in the East End of
London, virtuoso vocalist, actor and composer Cleveland Watkiss studied
the voice at London school of singing’ With opera coach Arnold Rose and
at the Guildhall School Of Music And Drama. Cleveland was also one of
the co-founders of the vastly influential Jazz Warriors big band. His
vocals can be heard on there debut album, Out of Many People which won a
video award in Japan.Cleveland was then entered
for the Wire/Guardian Jazz Awards and was voted best vocalist for three
consecutive years, and was the opening act of choice for two of the
worlds greatest female jazz vocalists Cassandra Wilson and Abbey
Lincoln. John Fordham, the Guardian music journalist accurately
described Cleveland as “arriving on the scene with a bang”.
His amazing vocal
experiences have seen him perform with many diverse artists from around
the world such as ‘The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dusseldolf
Symphonic Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Bob Dylan, Jackie Mittoo, Keith
Richards, James Taylor Quartet, Art Blakey, Sly & Robbie, Abdullah
Ibrahim, Stevie Wonder, Patife, Lepaja Symphonic Orchestra, Nigel
Kennedy, Carlinhos Brown, Robbie Williams, Joe Cocker, The Who, Branford
Marsalis, George Martin, Julian Joseph, Bocato Big Band, Lisa
Stansfield, Courtney Pine, Janet Kay, Maxi Priest, Soul II Soul, London
Chamber Orchestra, Kassa Mady, BBC Orchestra, Goldie, Cassandra Wilson,
Kenny Wheeler Big Band, Sugar Minot, Talvin Singh, Bjork, Pete
Townshend, London Community Gospel Choir [LCGC] and many many More.
Cleveland Watkiss is also a
very keen Music Educator, Working as a voice instructor with workshops
in Venues/Schools, colleges and Universities around the UK.He also designed the vocal
curriculum for BA Students at The Weekend Arts college [WAC] in north
London. And is a regularly facilitator and voice coach for the Artist
Development Programme [ADP] at the Hackney Empire Theatre in East
London.
More recently,
demonstrating great versatility Cleveland Watkiss was cast in the starring
role In Julian Joseph’s two groundbreaking Jazz Opera’s Bridgetower and Shadowball to considerable acclaim.The Cleveland Watkiss Quartet - CWQ.
Building on the formidable
strength and range of his solo performances with Vocalsuite, Cleveland
Watkiss has brought together three of the foremost musicians on the
British jazz scene, Mark Hodgson (bass), Shaney Forbes (drums) and Marco
Piccioni (guitars) to form a Quartet that showcases his extraordinary
vocal talent.
Dubbed the “Sonny Rollins of the human voice” by Time Out,
Cleveland’s rare ability to improvise like any instrument makes him a
true frontman, but he is also able to incorporate his sound melodically,
harmonically and rhythmically with bass and drums in a way that both
complements and extends the musical dimensions of the conventional jazz
Quartet format.
Cleveland has and continues to perform in many of the major concert halls, Festivals and clubs around the world with
VocalSuite which is a solo voice performance and his new Quartet ‘CWQ’
Book tickets at the link below.
