In this public masterclass, legendary vocalist Patti Austin will share her unparalleled expertise, insights, and techniques from her early work with jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald to her sustained multi-decade work with Quincy Jones to her session singing for legends like Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin to her Oscar-nominated chart-topping solo and duet hits across genres like jazz, soul, and R&B. Since her breakthrough in the mid-’70s, Austin has been a mainstay on the Billboard charts with 19 solo albums to her credit and performances of her hit songs on both the Grammys and the Oscars.

This event will be co-moderated by the USC Thornton School of Music’s Chair of Pop Performance Lyndia Johnson and Associate Professor of Jazz Studies Luciana Souza.

"Presenting Patti Austin: A Vocal Masterclass" is part of Quincy Jones: Beyond Category, an event series organized by the USC Thornton School of Music to explore, elevate, and celebrate Quincy Jones’s life and legacy. Working across styles and idioms including classical, jazz, pop, R&B, and film scoring—and breaking ground for African American achievement in the entertainment industries—Jones has garnered the highest levels of critical and commercial acclaim. 

This event is presented by USC Visions & Voices: the Arts & Humanities Initiative. 

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Admission is free and open to the public. Reservations required.