Jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson and pianist Ellen Rowe work with U-M jazz vocalists and their accompanists. A well-respected vocal teacher, Sunny Wilkinson is also a versatile jazz singer with a wide range. She started out singing in church choirs, and went to Arizona State University on a choral scholarship, playing trombone and singing with a pop/jazz group on weekends. She discovered jazz during that era and has since sung with the Count Basie Orchestra (as a guest), Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass, Bill Watrous, Marvin Stamm and, most often, with her own small combos. Wilkinson has also worked in the studios, as a background singer, as an educator and has recorded sets for California Breeze and Positive Music in the late ‘80s as a leader.