By Chris Paek
After more than 50 years of playing the sax, jazz icon Phil Woods doesn’t owe a compliment to anyone. So when he gave Grace Kelly his hat in the middle of a performance together, it was the ultimate sign of respect for a girl who’s come a long way in a short amount of time.
“He wore this hat on all of his album covers for the past 50 years,” Grace explains. “It was a sweet gesture and really overwhelming.”
Woods isn’t the only big name in the jazz community that’s been impressed by the 15-year-old prodigy. Renowned musicians like Lee Konitz and Randy Brecker rave about her mastery of the alto sax. In her short yet productive career, Grace has already released three CDs (“Dreaming” 2005, “Times Too” 2005, and “Every Road I Walked” 2006), won several composition awards, and has performed at Carnegie Hall and Symphony Hall in Boston, among many other prestigious venues.
Fred Taylor, long-time entertainment manager at the Sculler’s Jazz Club in Boston who’s worked with legends like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, says that Grace’s ability on the alto sax is reminiscent of the great Charlie Parker.
“I swear, she’s channeling some 50 or 60-year-old great artist,” says Taylor. “It just amazes me.”
Music has always been a vital part of the Kelly household. Born Grace Chung in Wellesley, Mass., Grace moved to Brookline, a small suburb bordering Boston, after her parents divorced when she was just 2. Her mother, Irene, remarried Robert Kelly, who then legally adopted Grace and her sister a few years later.
Grace recalls that during Sunday brunch, her mother would love to play Stan Getz records while serving pancakes.
“[He] was my inspiration,” says Grace. “It’s the quintessential saxophone sound. That’s what really drew me to the instrument.”
It took a few years before she had a chance at the sax, however. Believing that classical piano was the gateway to a more concrete understanding of music, Grace’s mother Irene started her on piano lessons when she was 6.
“That didn’t last too long,” recalls her father, Robert, who now manages Grace’s budding musical career. “She wouldn’t be doing the classical work. She’d start with that, and then she’d be playing other stuff, making up her own songs.”
In the fourth grade, Grace settled on the clarinet after learning that her school offered saxophone only to fifth-graders. Halfway through the year, however, she couldn’t wait any longer. She asked her piano teacher, also an accomplished saxophonist, to split their private lessons between the ivories and the sax.
“The first time I blew into the saxophone, I got that nice sound and it felt really satisfying,” recalls Grace. “Nothing like the squeaks I got on the clarinet.”
Since then, Grace has dedicated herself to her craft. Quickly becoming the youngest person to complete the four-year jazz certificate program at the New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School, Grace has showcased her talents far and wide, accepting invitations to jazz festivals as far as Tromso, Norway.
To make time for all the performing and traveling, she does most of her schoolwork independently, studying backstage at gigs and making up tests whenever she can.
“At times things can get overwhelming,” Grace admits. “But I think it’s a great thing to be busy because it keeps everything exciting.”
Her parents attend every gig. They still run a retail craft gallery, but they’ve redirected much of their time and energy into promoting and touring with Grace. Her father/manager Robert, who has a management degree from Boston University, says that he and his wife support his daughter’s dream of pursuing a career in music.
“We all know what the goal is and what we want to do,” says Robert. “We want her to be happy in whatever she chooses to do.”
For now, Grace says that she enjoys just being a teen, hanging out with high school friends whenever she’s not composing, performing or writing music. But she’s got big dreams for her future.
“One day, I hope to not only collaborate with jazz artists but people like Sting and Paul McCartney, some of my pop idols,” says Grace, who sports the Phil Woods hat on her latest album cover. “I want to keep spreading my music to as many people as possible.”
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