The Artistry of… Charenée Wade
I think it is safe to say that as a two-time entrant in the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition, she is an artist without creative or artistic fear. Art can be a daunting place. A place where soul and body laid bare are at the mercy of perception, illusion, assumption, and politic. The foundation of Charenée Wade’s artistry is in the bedrock of some of the supreme vocalists of the genre, Sarah Vaughan and Betty Carter. She placed second to Cécile McLorin Salvant in the Thelonious Monk competition, and according to her bio, the two became fast friends. It’s a double-barrelled force of jazz energy that has already made a deep impression. The politic is as sharp as a tack and rears back for nothing. You can hear it in the way she weaves lyric and sound into a delivery that demands attention. The students she teaches and has taught at the Aaron Copeland School at Queen’s College and at Peabody are the luckiest to be embraced by who she is and how she expresses and creates. Charenée Wade is directness, jazz energy, and a force of artistry that delivers with a sweet and deep impression.