Imani is a professional world/jazz vocalist, National Kennedy Center teaching artist, and children’s author. Her voice is featured on many of the National Geographic Television’s Explorer Series soundtracks, including the Emmy nominated Jane Goodall: “My Life with Chimpanzees.”
Imani has taught in the DC public school system and in private schools as a traditional world music teacher. She has had the honor of performing, touring, and recording with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for eight consecutive years. Follow this link to hear her performing with him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOnpyErMwnk
She is a 2016 through 2023 grant recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities. Since 1989, Imani has held the distinction of being the first and only American woman who tours and records with the traditional Ghanaian ensemble ODADAA. She has written two children’s world books entitled, Dhimiki and Iyipo Aye with sing-along compact discs, which received rave reviews from teachers, students, universities, and libraries. The Washington Post has called Imani “One of the most important vocalists of all times.”
