Kicking off a new series of alumni conversations, our Comms Coordinator Sofi is joined by esteemed industry vocal coach Annabel Williams to learn about the wild and wonderful ways that being part of NYJO has shaped the lives of its young musicians.
Since graduating from NYJO in 2002, Annabel’s journey demonstrates the many different paths open to a professional singer today. Her achievements are vast: from becoming a celebrity vocal coach (to fellow NYJO alum Amy Winehouse) aged 17, touring and recording as a top level backing singer and training the stars on talent shows (Britain’s Got Talent, X-Factor), to collaborating with RAYE in 2026. In this way, Annabel embodies the interdisciplinary approach to music making that NYJO still prides itself on today.
One of NYJO’s enduring aims is to give our young musicians access to top professional training, touring opportunities, and exposure at prestigious music venues. Tell us about your first gig with NYJO?
I joined NYJO when I was 15 and had a couple of years of going every week and rehearsing, just learning the repertoire. I would go every Saturday and get a chance to sing with the 23 piece big band and… and then I did my first gig…My first gig was at Ronnie’s, I was totally thrown in the deep end and loved it.
What’s one thing you wished people knew about Jazz singers?
It is important to know that it’s okay to be a singer and be shy, because I think many shy singers think that you have to have this “ta-da” personality and you absolutely don’t. That we are not all super-confident speakers addressing the audience. When I joined NYJO aged 15 I was the shyest kid in the world, and would never put my hand up in class. I loved singing on the mic, but I hated talking on the mic. I was so unconfident. And the singing was the thing that I loved and I could do, but I didn’t sign up for the talking bit. And I remember, well, I don’t know how to do it now, but in those days, the singer would make the song introductions. And I remember one time I totally froze and was just so terrified. And I’d be holding my mic, and I’d look over at Bill Ashton (founder of NYJO) and he’d encourage me. And you’ve got to, you remember, one thing singers sometimes forget is that the audience are on your side.
Peer-led teaching is now one of the core skills that we equip our Emerging Professionals with at NYJO. When you were 17, you set up a Jazz singing workshop that eventually got funded by the government and still runs as a model of peer-led learning to this day. How did your first teaching experience come about?
Well, I probably have taught, nearly as long as I’ve sung, because I fell into the coaching quite by accident when I started the jazz workshop for other singers at NYJO. Basically I would go to NYJO rehearsals from the age of 15 and I didn’t take over as the NYJO singer until I was 17. I started spreading the word about our weekly rehearsals and basically started inviting more and more singers to come along. I would teach them how to sing difficult original repertoire that we would perform with the full band.
Eventually we got funding and I was getting paid a small fee for my coaching of my workshop. And I’m really proud that the jazz workshop that I set up is still running today. And so that went on for a few years, but a couple of years after I was about 19, that’s when Amy turned up and she was 16 and we were rehearsing at the Cockpit Theatre. We were in the old props room, and we’d sit and listen to jazz records and discuss Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. These were really, really great times.
And of course Amy Winehouse would turn up; she was 16 then and a complete unknown and then she would, I would teach her the songs as I would teach the rest of them and then…She would just sort of sit and listen, and then even after I wasn’t sure if she was fully paying attention, she would go out and nail every performance, and she would have remembered everything that I said.
In your twenties you worked a lot as a backing singer and have recorded vocals on an incredible amount of albums. How did your jazz training and subsequent backing singer career equip your career shift into the pop music industry?
I toured for most of my 20s as a backing singer, did TV shows and worked with artists and I still do backing vocals to this day. I’ve just worked with Raye doing backing vocals for her and we did the piano rooms, Kate Hudson last year, that was fun. I’m fortunate that at this stage in my career, I can still work with amazing artists as a backing singer alongside my coaching. I do the fun stuff that I want to, which is a real honour.
How did your time at NYJO shape your career?
Whenever people ask me where I studied, NYJO is always my answer. I mean, yes, I did go to music college, but most of what I learned was from NYJO. Learning to read scat solos note for note, I learned to properly sight read during my time there. My reading and playing has never been better than that period. I will preach that from the hilltops all day long because NYJO has massively shaped my abilities and my entire career.
There was never any competitive nature about it either. I’d say being around other talented and passionate young musicians was inspiring and after every performance you’re so proud of your mates. God, that was an amazing guitar solo. That was an amazing trumpet solo. And you’re loving how incredibly talented your mates are.
What advice do you have for young singers still trying to ‘find their voice’?
Well, I mean, the music industry is full of so much talent. And I always say, like, there’s room for everyone. So if you’re wanting to be an artist don’t let anything put you off. If you work hard enough and remember to always be respectful and nice then there is space for everyone in the music industry. In terms of getting ahead the more musical knowledge you have, being able to read, having a great ear are important skills that need developing etc. I would say the majority of singers, pop pop singers, potentially don’t read. That’s fine but the more instruments you can play, the more songs you know by heart, all that sort of thing.
And then just timekeeping, being nice, being flexible, turning up warmed up, be prepared and be yourself. If you’ve got a personality, don’t hide it. And networking, just going out, going to gigs, going to different venues, going to the jam nights. There’s a new singer’s jazz jam night at Ronnie Scott’s on a Wednesday hosted by my two sisters, Natalie and Emma, that started last night. Go to those and just get your face out there, get recognised, get known, meet people because people talk and you might meet someone and then a couple of months later they might very well need a singer…