Although Nunn has spent much of her life in New York City, she is not a native New Yorker; Nunn was born and raised in Little Rock, AR. Growing up in the Deep South, Nunn listened to a great deal of jazz but was also heavily into soul, funk, rock, blues, and gospel. In 1978, she moved to the Big Apple and supported herself with a non-musical job at Gimbels department store on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Nunn started making inroads in the music world in 1979, when she met bandleader/tenor saxophonist/singer George Walker, aka Big Nick Nicholas, at the West Village jazz club Sweet Basil. Nicholas, a seasoned jazz veteran who had been playing professionally since the '40s, was a teacher of Coltrane in the '50s (Coltrane paid tribute to him by writing Big Nick in 1962), and he did a lot to help Nunn. Nicholas (who passed away in 1997 at the age of 75) became Nunn's mentor, introducing her to well-known jazz musicians such as vibist Red Norvo, trombonist/guitarist Eddie Durham, and pianist Roger Ram Ramirez (best known for writing the Billie Holiday-associated standard Lover Man).
Nunn, who sang with Nicholas' band extensively in the '80s, was offered full scholarships to the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but she turned both of them down in order to study theology at Lehman College in the Bronx. Nonetheless, Nunn continued to perform jazz on a regular basis, and in 1993, she began a long association with Franks. Famous for gems like When Sly Calls (Don't Touch That Phone), Rainy Night in Tokyo, and Popsicle Toes, Franks invited Nunn to tour with him internationally and has featured her in concerts all over the world. Another person Nunn met in the '90s was jazz pianist Travis Shook, who she married and has spent a lot of time collaborating with. In 2000, Nunn produced her debut album, American Lullaby, which featured Shook and was released on his label, Dead Horse Records. In early 2007, Dead Horse released Nunn's second album, Standard Delivery, another disc that was produced by Nunn and featured Shook on piano. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi