Camille Thurman was born in New York. Her mother played piano and sang at church. She would practice after putting her young daughter to bed, unaware that instead of sleeping, Camille would listen to what her mother was playing on the piano. During the day, she secretly practiced the same songs, and her mother's mouth fell open when Camille one day played her the song From a Distance - in A major, no less. It turned out that her daughter had perfect pitch. Whichever instrument she turned to, she was quickly able to master it. She began with the flute. As a girl in her junior high school orchestra, she was often singled out, and for a time suffered a serious lack of self-esteem as a result. Then she met Tia Fuller (who also appeared at the Jazz Spring festival, on 5 May 2019), whose example pulled Camille back to her musical career - she had previously decided that she wanted to be a geologist instead. Camille met double bassist Mimi Jones, drummer Darrell Green (whom she married in 2021), and Sherman Irby. Wynton Marsalis heard her singing with the latter, another saxophonist at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and decided to invite her to join the JLCO. Camille has released five solo records, and has received a wide range of awards. During a scholarship from the US State Department, she also travelled to several countries in South America and Africa.

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