Carmen McRae Pics

Carmen

McRae

08 April 1920

Slim

Brown - Light

Brown - Dark

Harlem, New York, NY

Aries

10 November 1994

Beverly Hills, CA

stroke, following complications from respiratory illness

American

Female

Vocal, Piano

Jazz, Bop, Standards, Traditional Pop, Vocal Jazz

Intimate, Amiable/Good-Natured, Passionate, Romantic, Melancholy, Nocturnal, Elegant, Sophisticated, Stylish, Poignant, Bittersweet, Fun, Wry, Soothing, Earnest, Exuberant, Refined/Mannered, Gentle, Playful, Sentimental, Yearning

Vocals, Piano

Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable. McRae drew inspiration from Billie Holiday, but established her own distinctive voice. She went on to record over 60 albums, enjoying a rich musical career, performing and recording in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter`s big band (1944) but it would be another decade before her career really had much momentum. McRae married and divorced Kenny Clarke in the 1940s, worked with Count Basie (briefly) and Mercer Ellington (1946-47), and became the intermission singer and pianist at several New York clubs. In 1954 she began to record as a leader and by then she had absorbed the influences of Billie Holiday and bebop into her own style. McRae would record pretty steadily up to 1989 and, although her voice was higher in the 1950s and her phrasing would be even more laidback in later years, her general style and approach did not change much through the decades. Championed in the 1950s by Ralph Gleason, Carmen McRae was fairly popular throughout her career. Among her most interesting recording projects were participating in Dave Brubeck`s the Real Ambassadors with Louis Armstrong, cutting an album of live duets with Betty Carter, being accompanied by Dave Brubeck and George Shearing, and closing her career with brilliant tributes to Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan. Carmen McRae, who refused to quit smoking, was forced to retire in 1991 due to emphysema. She recorded for many labels including Bethlehem, Decca (1954-58), Kapp, Columbia, Mainstream, Focus, Atlantic (1967-70), Black Lion, Groove Merchant, Catalyst, Blue Note, Buddah, Concord and Novus. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide Representative Songs: "Exactly Like You," "My Funny Valentine," "Trav`lin` Light" Representative Albums: The Great American Songbook, Carmen Sings Monk, Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics Similar Artists: Carol Sloane, Teddi King, Joya Sherrill, Dinah Washington, Etta Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Ernestine Anderson, Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone Influences: Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday Followers: Lois Smith, Meegan Samantha Coleman, Christina Machado, Maroon, Roberta Gambarini, Carla Cook, Karen Shane, Kelley Johnson, Suzanne Pittson, Diana Krall, Joe Lee Wilson, Mary Stallings, Irene Kral, Norma Winstone Performed Songs By: Jim Eaton, Sally Swisher, George Lees, Doris Tauber, Brooks Bowman, Carolyn Leigh, Richard Whiting, Maceo Pinkard, Terry Shand, Victor Young, Stevie Wonder, Paul Williams, Paul Weston, Paul Francis Webster, Ned Washington, Harry Warren, James Van Heusen, Jule Styne, Billy Strayhorn, Axel Stordahl, Leo Robin, Don Raye, Ralph Rainger, Cole Porter, Mitchell Parish, Anthony Newley, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Mercer, Burton Lane, Edward Heyman, Arthur Herzog Jr., Jon Hendricks, Ray Henderson, Lorenz Hart, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Oscar Hammerstein II, Johnny Green, Adolph Green, Ira Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, Duke Ellington, Ervin Drake, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene DePaul, Hal David, Betty Comden, Nat King Cole, Saul Chaplin, Sammy Cahn, Irving Caesar, Johnny Burke, Lew Brown, Leslie Bricusse, Frank Loesser, Jerome Kern, Vernon Duke, Burt Bacharach, Richard Rodgers, Noël Coward, Harold Arlen, Vincent Youmans, Jimmy McHugh, Irving Mills, Blossom Dearie, Cy Coleman, Leon Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin Worked With: Cal Tjader, Zoot Sims, Frank Severino, Marshall Otwell, Eric Gunnison, Phil Edwards, Larry Bunker, Ray Brown, Joe Benjamin, Donald Bailey, Norman Simmons, Joe Pass, Mundell Lowe, Dave Brubeck

Carmen Mercedes McRae

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