Georgia Nona was born into a colourful, musical environment. Her late father, Race Knower, was a songwriter influenced by the Blues and Funk genre. However, Jazz was the foundation of his musical life, his very being and his deepest appreciation. Georgia Nona’s first live contact with the Jazz world was after her father took her to meet Chico Freeman in the then Tower Records (Piccadilly Circus, London) at his album signing for “Brainstorm” in 1989. Chico kindly invited them to his upcoming concert at Ronnie Scott’s, London. It was a true honour for the four-year-old Georgia Nona to experience his mesmerizing, soulful playing. This magical evening would quietly accompany her throughout her life as well as the beautiful live concerts with Ray Charles, Roy Ayers, Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers and George Benson, to name but a few. She owes this musical connection wholeheartedly to her father.
Georgia Nona later went on to study Music at the University of Edinburgh and Singing at the Royal Academy of Music. She had chosen to follow the Classical path partially to learn and explore music for herself. The connection between the Baroque Period and the Jazz Era continued to fascinate her and there were always some humble opportunities to express this. Georgia Nona had wanted to make an album of timeless Jazz standards for her father, which she unfortunately did not manage before his passing in 2021. To honour his life, she pursued her search for a pianist who might share this love of Jazz and record an album with her. Serendipitously, Georgia Nona then met her future pianist, one Alex Wilson at a concert in Basel, where he was playing for saxophonist, Chico Freeman! Throughout the evening, she was very touched by Alex’s playing and observed how melodic it was, with a beautiful feeling for phrasing. Owing to his artistic engagement and support he was giving to the ensemble, she imagined that he could work very well with singers. So, she asked him if he might enjoy recording some songs with a certain singer...and the rest is Jazz!
This was an integration of past and present inspiration, calling on her to explore this beautiful era more wholesomely and return to her musical roots. Since then, she has produced an album of Golden-Age jewels together with Alex and become increasingly fascinated with the Art Deco Era- the clothes, the cars, the buildings, the fonts, the socio-economical and historical contexts-everything upon which Jazz was created, celebrated and mourned.
