Gradie's Beat

  Gradie Stone is a true musician’s singer and comes from a real musician’s family.  Her dad led the very poplar “Kirby Stone Four” through the fifties and sixties.  Their gold selling hit, “Baubles Bangles & Beads” was nominated for a Grammy.  Her mom was a singer with the vocal group “The DeMarco Sisters”.  Gradie grew up in both New Jersey and Las Vegas.  She attended William Paterson University and was a jazz vocal major in the jazz studies program led by Thad Jones.  Following school she hit the road with various groups and artists.  Upon returning to New Jersey Gradie joined an R&B/jazz group and worked steadily in the New York metro area.  It was while working  these gigs that she was heard by renowned jazz saxophonist George Young who  installed her as the singer in his “All Star” jazz band.  Although some of Gradie’s first influences include artists such as Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee etc. she also grew up listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Manhattan Transfer and Chaka Kahn.  She considers her approach to jazz a bit different than someone not taken by pop music. She infuses a little more funk and R&B than say, a “traditional” jazz singer would.  In 1997 Gradie released her first CD, “After All These Years” on Niki Records. The CD was a success on all fronts, musically, critically and commercially.  Her second CD “Gradie Stone Live!” was recorded in one night at a beautiful theater in Paterson, NJ.  It showcases the relaxed spontaneity, swinging feel and soulful interpretations of one of the jazz world’s best singers.