Carolyn Wilkins: Buy
Healin' Time
Carolyn's soulful voice and jazzy piano riffs animate this eclectic collection of songs used in the Jazz service at the First Congregational Church. Among Carolyn's original compositions Included on this CD are Healin' Time, Mother Groaned and The Power of the Light. Also included are the well-known African American spirituals Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Deep River and Wade in the Water.
Praise Song
Usually, attempts at attaining enlightenment are reserved for church- and temple-going on the weekends. But Carolyn's new Praise Song CD proves that the transformative powers of swing can guide you any time, any place.
In this CD, Carolyn focuses on songs that honor her musical, spiritual and biological ancestors. There are songs dedicated to Martin Luther King, jazz piano greats Horace Silver and Mary Lou Williams, and songs by master composers as diverse as Duke Ellington and Carol King.
Backing Carolyn's piano and vocals on this CD are two of the Boston area's finest musicians. Bassist John Voigt
has performed with many top jazz performers including Chick Corea, Louie Bellson, Jameel Mondoc, Pearl Bailey and Jan Hammer.
Drummer Yoron Israel has performed and recorded with such notable and diverse artists as Ahmad Jamal, Grover Washington, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Abbey Lincoln, Tony Bennett, Joe Lovano and Tom Harrell among numerous others.
In this CD, Carolyn focuses on songs that honor her musical, spiritual and biological ancestors. There are songs dedicated to Martin Luther King, jazz piano greats Horace Silver and Mary Lou Williams, and songs by master composers as diverse as Duke Ellington and Carol King.
Backing Carolyn's piano and vocals on this CD are two of the Boston area's finest musicians. Bassist John Voigt
has performed with many top jazz performers including Chick Corea, Louie Bellson, Jameel Mondoc, Pearl Bailey and Jan Hammer.
Drummer Yoron Israel has performed and recorded with such notable and diverse artists as Ahmad Jamal, Grover Washington, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Abbey Lincoln, Tony Bennett, Joe Lovano and Tom Harrell among numerous others.
Tips for Singers: Performing, Auditioning, and Rehearsing - Book and CD
Tips for Singers: Performing, Auditioning, and Rehearsing
by Carolyn Wilkins
Learn the secrets to a successful singing career. A perfect complement to books about singing technique, this essential handbook gives you the skills you need to achieve your full potential as a professional musician.
Learn to:
Develop stage presence and musical identity
Choose songs that showcase your voice
Understand musical notation and create lead sheets
Find the best key for your song
Rehearse your band
Choose and use microphones and PA systems
Overcome stage fright
Ace auditions
Write promos and generate publicity
Carolyn Wilkins is a performer, composer, and educator who has helped launch the careers of thousands of singers. Her performance experience includes radio and television appearances with her group SpiritJazz, work as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, and concert appearances with Melba Moore, Nancy Wilson, the Fifth Dimension, and the Pittsburgh Symphony under Andre Previn.
"Carolyn's Tips for Singers is know-how that works right now. The teacher's teacher tells all. Thank you Carolyn for the insights. A great read."
—Livingston Taylor, Singer/Songwriter
"Take command of your career! Tips for Singers gets to the core of essential skills beyond vocal technique, underscoring all facets of a professional singing career in a clearly written, all-encompassing format. Arm yourself with the tools to gain confidence and competence, and garner the respect of your fellow musicians. An invaluable complement to vocal study."
—Leanne Summers, performer and vocal coach (preparing singers for appearances on American Idol, Star Search, The Tonight Show, and more)
"Professor Wilkins's excellent account is a must for all singers—professionals and amateurs alike. These are the necessary steps for improving your performance. Whatever your musical style, it will give you and your band immediate benefit."
—Jetro da Silva, Keyboardist/Producer/Music Director/Arranger (Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, Patti Austin, and many others).
"Tips for Singers is a great resource for singers of any style. Carolyn Wilkins takes the singer through developing musicianship skills, rehearsal guidelines, and auditions preparation in a way that is right on point and easy to understand. It's a wonderful reference book for singers to have.
—Jan Shapiro, Singer and Chair of Vocal Performance at Berklee College of Music
by Carolyn Wilkins
Learn the secrets to a successful singing career. A perfect complement to books about singing technique, this essential handbook gives you the skills you need to achieve your full potential as a professional musician.
Learn to:
Develop stage presence and musical identity
Choose songs that showcase your voice
Understand musical notation and create lead sheets
Find the best key for your song
Rehearse your band
Choose and use microphones and PA systems
Overcome stage fright
Ace auditions
Write promos and generate publicity
Carolyn Wilkins is a performer, composer, and educator who has helped launch the careers of thousands of singers. Her performance experience includes radio and television appearances with her group SpiritJazz, work as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, and concert appearances with Melba Moore, Nancy Wilson, the Fifth Dimension, and the Pittsburgh Symphony under Andre Previn.
"Carolyn's Tips for Singers is know-how that works right now. The teacher's teacher tells all. Thank you Carolyn for the insights. A great read."
—Livingston Taylor, Singer/Songwriter
"Take command of your career! Tips for Singers gets to the core of essential skills beyond vocal technique, underscoring all facets of a professional singing career in a clearly written, all-encompassing format. Arm yourself with the tools to gain confidence and competence, and garner the respect of your fellow musicians. An invaluable complement to vocal study."
—Leanne Summers, performer and vocal coach (preparing singers for appearances on American Idol, Star Search, The Tonight Show, and more)
"Professor Wilkins's excellent account is a must for all singers—professionals and amateurs alike. These are the necessary steps for improving your performance. Whatever your musical style, it will give you and your band immediate benefit."
—Jetro da Silva, Keyboardist/Producer/Music Director/Arranger (Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, Patti Austin, and many others).
"Tips for Singers is a great resource for singers of any style. Carolyn Wilkins takes the singer through developing musicianship skills, rehearsal guidelines, and auditions preparation in a way that is right on point and easy to understand. It's a wonderful reference book for singers to have.
—Jan Shapiro, Singer and Chair of Vocal Performance at Berklee College of Music
Damn Near White: An African American Family's Rise From Slavery to Bittersweet Success - Book
Damn Near White is Carolyn's newest book - an explosive memoir that deals with race, identity and the importance of family.
Because of her light complexion and wavy hair, Carolyn spent years struggling to convince others that she was black. Her family’s prominence set Carolyn’s experiences even further apart from those of the average African American. Her father and uncle were well-known lawyers who had graduated from Harvard Law School. Another uncle had been a child prodigy and protégé of Albert Einstein. And her grandfather had been America's first black assistant secretary of labor.
Carolyn's parents insisted she follow the color-conscious rituals of Chicago's elite black bourgeoisie—experiences Carolyn recalls as some of the most miserable of her entire life. Only in the company of her mischievous Aunt Marjory, a woman who refused to let the conventions of “proper” black society limit her, does Carolyn feel a true connection to her family's African American heritage.
When Aunt Marjory passes away, Carolyn inherits ten bulging scrapbooks filled with family history and memories. What she finds in these photo albums inspires her to discover the truth about her ancestors—a quest that will eventually involve years of research, thousands of miles of travel, and much soul-searching.
Carolyn learns that her great-grandfather John Bird Wilkins was born into slavery and went on to become a teacher, inventor, newspaperman, renegade Baptist minister, and a bigamist who abandoned five children. And when she discovers that her grandfather J. Ernest Wilkins may have been forced to resign from his labor department post by members of the Eisenhower administration, Carolyn must confront the bittersweet fruits of her family's generations-long quest for status and approval.
Damn Near White is an insider’s portrait of an unusual American family. Readers will be drawn into Carolyn’s journey as she struggles to redefine herself in light of the long-buried secrets she uncovers. Tackling issues of class, color, and caste, Wilkins reflects on the changes of African American life in U.S. history through her dedicated search to discover her family’s powerful story.
Because of her light complexion and wavy hair, Carolyn spent years struggling to convince others that she was black. Her family’s prominence set Carolyn’s experiences even further apart from those of the average African American. Her father and uncle were well-known lawyers who had graduated from Harvard Law School. Another uncle had been a child prodigy and protégé of Albert Einstein. And her grandfather had been America's first black assistant secretary of labor.
Carolyn's parents insisted she follow the color-conscious rituals of Chicago's elite black bourgeoisie—experiences Carolyn recalls as some of the most miserable of her entire life. Only in the company of her mischievous Aunt Marjory, a woman who refused to let the conventions of “proper” black society limit her, does Carolyn feel a true connection to her family's African American heritage.
When Aunt Marjory passes away, Carolyn inherits ten bulging scrapbooks filled with family history and memories. What she finds in these photo albums inspires her to discover the truth about her ancestors—a quest that will eventually involve years of research, thousands of miles of travel, and much soul-searching.
Carolyn learns that her great-grandfather John Bird Wilkins was born into slavery and went on to become a teacher, inventor, newspaperman, renegade Baptist minister, and a bigamist who abandoned five children. And when she discovers that her grandfather J. Ernest Wilkins may have been forced to resign from his labor department post by members of the Eisenhower administration, Carolyn must confront the bittersweet fruits of her family's generations-long quest for status and approval.
Damn Near White is an insider’s portrait of an unusual American family. Readers will be drawn into Carolyn’s journey as she struggles to redefine herself in light of the long-buried secrets she uncovers. Tackling issues of class, color, and caste, Wilkins reflects on the changes of African American life in U.S. history through her dedicated search to discover her family’s powerful story.