PATTI AUSTIN

A beloved singer and member of Quincy’s extended family, Patti has worked with Quincy since she was a child. Proud to be Patti’s godfather, Q produced her #1 hit “Baby, Come to Me” – a duet with James Ingram. She later teamed up with Ingram once again for chart-topper “How Do You Keep the Music Playing”. Patti’s other work with the Quincy “family” includes collaboration with both Quincy and Michael Jackson on

Off The Wall and The Wiz.  Says Quincy of Patti, “I’ve known Patti since she was four years old. She was great then… you know how good she is now!”

Grammy winner Austin crosses all musical genres, has made 17 solo albums, and has performed her award-nominated hit songs on the Grammys and the Oscars. As a performer, songwriter and vocalist, she has had a star-studded career that began at the age of four, making her one of the most beloved artists the world over and a mainstay on the Billboard Jazz Albums charts.

Austin’s musical pedigree is unparalleled.  The daughter of jazz trombonist Gordon Austin – and goddaughter of music legends Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington –  the versatile vocalist made her stage debut with Washington at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. During the 70s, she was the undisputed “queen” of the New York session scene; her voice was heard behind everyone from Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, James Brown and Joe Cocker to Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross and Diana Ross and on countless memorable commercial jingles. At the beginning of the 80s, Patti earned a wider audience through her participation on a series of albums with Jones including his best-selling Stuff Like That, his Grammy-winning classic The Dude, and his From Q With Love Vols. 1&2 via the standout track, “If This Time Is the Last Time.”

Her early solo career resulted in the chart-topping, Grammy nominated hit with Ingram “Baby Come To Me,”; the Jam-and-Lewis-produced R&B smash “The Heat of Heat”; and the Oscar nominated “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?”. Austin’s 1988 album The Real Me, one of the most popular items in her catalog, featured a powerful collection of pop and jazz standards including “Cry Me A River,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “Mood Indigo.”

A stint at GRP Records included 1991’s Carry On, Love is Gonna Getcha (featuring the across-the-board hit “Through the Test of Time”), That Secret Place and Patti Austin Live (recorded at New York’s Bottom Line), which showcased her amazing standup comedic skills and brilliant impersonations. Her 1998 album In and Out of Love spent almost two years on the contemporary jazz charts. In 1999 and in 2000, she recorded On The Way to Love, a superb Warner Brothers album produced by Paul Brown.

Her most recent release, Rendezvous Entertainment presents Avant-Gershwin, won Austin the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

Austin’s label recently partnered the release of the album Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II with the “Power to End Stroke” campaign and Austin’s version of “So Amazing” is currently climbing up the Smooth Jazz Charts.

She has also devoted considerable time performing for AIDS-related organizations and has appeared in several major benefit concerts in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The prodigious songstress has also written and created her own one-woman show. In addition, she co-created the musical extravaganza Beboperella – a modern-day, music-driven show that brings the sound and spirit of bebop to a new generation. She also is the co-creator of Oh Freedom, a show exploring the African-American quest for freedom and equality in America.