The Recording Academy® Statement re: Ward Swingle Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015
"Five-time GRAMMY® winner Ward Swingle was a pioneering jazz vocalist and founding member of the internationally celebrated Swingle Singers. A remarkable figure in music, he also was a noted conductor and arranger of choral music. From his beginnings playing piano as a young boy in Mobile, Ala., to attending the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, to studying with virtuoso pianist Walter Gieseking in France, he was as ambitious as he was innovative. Ward developed and evolved a brand new style that blended classical and baroque sounds with scat singing, resulting in a fresh, avant-garde approach to jazz music. Those inventive techniques led him to become one of the most in-demand guest conductors and arrangers, and he worked with countless famous groups including the Netherlands Chamber Choir and Stockholm Choirs, the Sydney Philharmonic Motet Choir and the BBC Northern Singers. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, his many collaborators, as well as to all who have been entertained by his exceptional talent."
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Neil Portnow
President/CEO
The Recording Academy
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