Rachelle Ferrell & Jennifer Hudson - Viper Alley - Lincolnshire, Illinois

Rachelle Ferrell with Jennifer Hudson, Viper Alley, Lincolnshire, Illinois, March 3rd, 2012.  Rachelle Ferrell (b. 1961, Berwyn, Pennsylvania) is an American singer and musician. Although she has had some success in themainstream R&B, pop, gospel, and classical music scene, she is most noted for her talents as a contemporary jazz singer. Biography Rachelle Ferrell began singing at the age of six, which many speculate contributed to the "development of her startling six and change octave range."[1] Her range also includes the ability to sing in the whistle register, as stated in an editorial review[2] in which she references her highest notes in "It only took a minute" as "Minnie Riperton-like wailing". She received classical training in violin at an early age and by the time she was a teen, she was able to play the piano at a professional level. She enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston where she honed her musical abilities in arrangement, singing and songwriting.

Singers Rachelle Ferrell (left) and Jennifer Hudson (right) at Viper Alley in Lincolnshire March 4, 2012. (Via Twitter.com/iamjhud)

Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson.[2] She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol, coming in seventh place. She made her film debut in the 2006 filmDreamgirls, which won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, an NAACP Image Awardand a Screen Actors Guild Award. She won a Grammy Award for her eponymous debut album, Jennifer Hudson, which was released in 2008 on Arista Records and was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 800,000 copies in the US; sales exceeded 1 million copies worldwide. Additionally, it spawned the hit singleSpotlight. Her second album, I Remember Me, was released in March 2011, and reached number two on the Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in its first week of release.[3] In late 2008, after Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were killed in a shooting, Hudson stepped out of the limelight for three months. Hudson resumed her public appearances in 2009, and has since performed at the Super Bowl XLIII, the Grammy Awards, American Idol, andThe Oprah Winfrey Show.[4] Hudson has been described as a friend of President Barack Obama, who invited her to appear with him at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills in May 2009.[5] She also performed at the White House at the "Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" event.[6] Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano.[7] To date in the USA alone, 1,280,000 million albums and 2,237,000 million tracks have been sold.[8

From 1975-90, Ferrell sang backup for Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, Vanessa Williams, and George Duke. Ferrell's debut, First Instrument, was released in 1990 in Japan, five years prior to its US release. Recorded with bassist Tyrone Brown, pianist Eddie Green and drummer Doug Nally, an all-star cast of accompanists also leave their mark on her record. They include trumpeter Terence Blanchard, pianists Gil Goldstein and Michel Petrucciani, bassists Kenny Davis and Stanley Clarke, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter and keyboardist Pete Levin. Her unique take on now-standards like Sam Cooke's "You Send Me", Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love", and Rodgers & Hart's "My Funny Valentine", captured the hearts and souls of the Japanese jazz buying public.[ Discography Year Title Genre Label 2002 Live at Montreux 91-97 [Live] Jazz Blue Note 2000 Individuality (Can I Be Me?) R&B, Gospel, and Jazz Capitol 1994 Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This, w/Will Downing R&B, Pop Capitol 1993 Welcome to My Love R&B, Pop Capitol 1992 Rachelle Ferrell Jazz/Contemporary Capitol/EMI 1992 Til You Come Back to Me Jazz/Contemporary Capitol 1990 Somethin' Else Jazz/Contemporary Blue Note 1990 First Instrument Jazz/Contemporary EMI (Japan) Blue Note (1995)