MELBA JOYCE
CARMEN BRADFORD is Melba's daughter
Melba
Joyce was born on September 29, in
Dallas
,TX. She grew up under the musical influence of her mother and grandparents. Her
father, Melvin Moore sang jazz, toured and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie’s
Big Band. Her family moved to
Los Angeles
and Melba found herself opening for such renowned artists as Miles Davis,
Freddy Hubbard and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. She is a graduate of
Antioch University West in
Los Angeles
. Melba appeared on Broadway in "Black and Blue" as understudy for
all three principals: Linda Hopkins, Ruth Brown and Carrie Smith. She
starred in the launching of that show's successful world tour. Melba
appeared from
Amsterdam
to
Beijing
,
London
and
Bordeaux
to
New York,
Dallas
,
Beverly Hills
, and
Little Rock,
Arkansas. She toured the war-torn fields of Vietnam
to entertain the troops at the height of the war, an experience that raised
her social conscience to new heights.
When
Melba returned, she was appointed panelist for the Congressional Black
Caucus of Women in Jazz Forum. She produced the first Women in Jazz Festival
at Harlem's Schomburg Center for Black Culture and became a principal in the Day of the Child Series for
UNICEF. Funded by National Endowment for the Arts, she produced Jazz
for Special People, a musical education series for the handicapped. In 1998
Melba toured overseas as part of the 1998 Kennedy Center-USIA Jazz
Ambassadors program in
Africa
, with a special performance at The Kennedy Center as part of the program.
In May 2004, Melba was the first to be honored by the
National
Jazz Museum in Harlem and she appeared in the series "HARLEM
SPEAKS", honoring those who keep jazz alive in
Harlem. In August 2005, Melba joined the great Count Basie Orchestra as
vocalist. In 2008, The Central Park Conservancy recognized Melba, through
the City of New York for creating and producing the first Women's Jazz Festival.
In July 2009
Melba Joyce and Her Big Band debuted at Lincoln Center's Mid Summer Night Swing, with nine women and nine men, setting a
precedence recognized by Jazz WBGO radio's Rhonda Hamilton, who compared the
singer's actions to Benny Goodman who hired Black musicians to play
with his big band. Melba celebrated Goodman's 100th birthday. Her band
included trombonist Benny Powell, Lakecia Benjamin, Valery Panomov, Clarence
banks, Debra Weitz, Michael Howell and Helen Sung.
In Autumn 2009, Melba was
a judge at Russia's first prestigious, International Harpist Competition
"The Golden Harp" in honor of The Empress Elizabeth,
featuring the unveiling of one of Russia's celebrated composers, Dmitri
Shostakovich, whose son is a conductor and interpreter of his father's
creations. The colorful Gala featured Melba in a duet with Anna Makarova,
the principal harpist of The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. The
two achieved a striking blend of marvelous artistry and musicality in their
version of "Send in The Clowns". With the Saint Petersburg Chamber
Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Fabio Mastangelo, Melba sang
Gershwin's "Summertime" with string arrangements by American
trumpeter and big band leader Steve Huffsteter. In Summer 2010, Melba
performed in Beijing, China and Georgia, Russia.
