Lucy Woodward & New Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra

Her father, Kerry Woodward, is British and a well-known conductor of choral music; her mother, Julie Woodward, is American and an editor at the renowned “The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.” Lucy Woodward was born in London in 1977 and moved with her mother to New York City after their divorce, where she began studying jazz at the Manhattan School of Music. Despite her success (some of her songs made it into the Top 40), she remained true to an emotionally charged vocal jazz style. Most recently, she collaborated with composer Louk Boudesteijn of the New Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra (NRJO) and her longtime guitarist Jelle Roozenburg to produce the big band album “Lucy Woodward & The Rocketeers,” featuring cover songs by composers such as Nina Simone and Billy Strayhorn. Building on this, Woodward and the NRJO plan to present a program for Cologne Jazzweek that focuses on original compositions and skillfully blends the emotional timbre of her voice with the powerful brass section of the big band.