A distinctive, adventurous jazz vocalist with an impressive range and a slightly husky voice, Grace Testani was born and raised in upstate New York but has spent most of her adult life in Manhattan. Testani, whose influences range from Anita O'Day to Sarah Vaughan, earned a BA in psychology from New York University in the 1970s before doing her share of club gigs in the 1980s and 1990s. Among the noteworthy artists Testani performed with were saxman Sonny Fortune; pianists Harold Mabern, Jim McNeely and Phil Markowitz; guitarist Jack Wilkins; bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Danny Gottlieb. In 1983, she co-led a jazz vocal clinic with Sheila Jordan and others and founded Grace Notes Enterprises, which has specialized in musical training, workshops, clinics and other activities for jazz singers. Testani also heads Creative Computing Center, a computer training and consulting firm. The singer recorded her first album, Something's Coming, in 1994 and released it on her Grace Notes label a few years later. ~ Alex Henderson