BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Carmen McRae
| Carmen McRae | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Zita Cypress, circa 1949
| |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carmen Mercedes McRae |
| Also known as | "The Singer's Singer" |
| Born | April 8, 1920 |
| Origin | Harlem, New York City, New York, United States |
| Died | November 10, 1994 (aged 74) Beverly Hills, California,United States |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, bebop, traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, pianist |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1939–1991 |
| Labels | Decca, Kapp, Columbia,Mainstream, Atlantic, Blue Note, Concord, Novus |
| Associated acts | Jack Pleis, Sammy Davis, Jr.,Billie Holiday, Norman Simmons, Cal Tjader, George Shearing, Dave Brubeck |
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.[1] McRae drew inspiration from Billie Holiday, but established her own distinctive voice. She went on to record more than 60 albums, enjoying a rich musical career, performing and recording in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Biography
McRae was born in Harlem. Her father, Osmond, was originally from Costa Rica, and her mother, Evadne McRae, an immigrant fromJamaica. She began studying piano when she was eight, and the music of jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellingtonfilled her home. She met singer Billie Holiday when she was just 17 years old. As a teenager McRae came to the attention of Teddy Wilson and his wife, the composer Irene Kitchings Wilson. One of McRae's early songs, "Dream of Life", was, through their influence, recorded in 1939 by Wilson’s long-time collaborator Billie Holiday.[2] McRae considered Holiday to be her primary influence.
In her late teens and early twenties, McRae played piano at a New York club called Minton's Playhouse, Harlem's most famous jazz club, sang as a chorus girl, and worked as a secretary. It was at Minton's where she met trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Kenny Clarke, had her first important job as a pianist with the Benny Carter's big band (1944), worked withCount Basie (1944) and made her first recording as pianist with the Mercer Ellington Band (1946–1947). But it was while working inBrooklyn that she came to the attention of Decca’s Milt Gabler. Her five-year association with Decca yielded 12 LPs.
In 1948 she moved to Chicago with comedian George Kirby. She played piano steadily for almost four years before returning to New York. Those years in Chicago, McRae told Jazz Forum, "gave me whatever it is that I have now. That's the most prominent schooling I ever had."[3] Back in New York in the early 1950s, McRae got the record contract that launched her career. She was voted best new female vocalist of 1954 by Down Beat magazine. MacRae married twice: to drummer Kenny Clarke in 1946, and to bassist Ike Isaacsin the late 1950s; both marriages ended in divorce.[4]
Among her most interesting recording projects were Mad About The Man (1957) with composer Noël Coward, Boy Meets Girl (1957) with Sammy Davis, Jr., participating in Dave Brubeck's The Real Ambassadors (1961) with Louis Armstrong, a tribute album You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs) (1983), cutting an album of live duets with Betty Carter, The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duets (1987), being accompanied by Dave Brubeck and George Shearing, and closing her career with brilliant tributes toThelonious Monk, Carmen Sings Monk (1990), and Sarah Vaughan, Sarah: Dedicated to You (1991).
As a result of her early friendship with Billie Holiday, she never performed without singing at least one song associated with "Lady Day", and she recorded an album in 1983 in her honor entitled For Lady Day, which was released in 1995, with songs including "Good Morning Heartache", "Them There Eyes", "Lover Man", "God Bless the Child" and "Don't Explain". McRae also recorded with some of the world's best jazz musicians in albums such as Take Five Live (1961) with Dave Brubeck, Two for the Road (1980) with George Shearing, and Heat Wave (1982) with Cal Tjader. The latter two albums were part of a notable eight-year relationship with Concord Jazz.[5]
McRae sang in jazz clubs throughout the United States — and across the world — for more than fifty years. She was a popular performer at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival(1961–1963, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1982), performing with Duke Ellington's orchestra at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1980, singing "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and at theMontreux Jazz Festival in 1989.[6] She left New York for Southern California in the late 1960s, but appeared in New York regularly, usually at the Blue Note, where she performed two engagements a year through most of the 1980s.[4] She withdrew from public performance in May 1991 after an episode of respiratory failure only hours after she completed an engagement at the Blue Note jazz club in New York.
On November 10, 1994, McRae died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 74. She had fallen into a semi-coma four days earlier, a month after being hospitalized for a stroke.
Awards
| Carmen McRae Grammy Award Recognitions[7] | ||||
| Year | Category | Title | Label | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Best Jazz Performance - Soloist | Carmen McRae | Atlantic | Nominee |
| 1977 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance | Carmen McRae at the Great American Music Hall | Blue Note | Nominee |
| 1984 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance | You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs) | Concord Jazz | Nominee |
| 1987 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female | Any Old Time | Denon | Nominee |
| 1988 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Duo or Group | The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duets | Great American Music Hall | Nominee |
| 1988 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female | Fine and Mellow | Concord Jazz | Nominee |
| 1990 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Female | Carmen Sings Monk | Novus | Nominee |
| Carmen McRae Awards | ||||
| Year | Organization | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | NAACP | NAACP Image Awards | Winner | |
| 1994 | National Endowment for the Arts | NEA Jazz Masters | Winner | |
Partial discography
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Carmen McRae | Bethlehem |
| 1954 | Easy to Love | Bethlehem |
| 1955 | Torchy! | Decca |
| 1956 | Blue Moon | Decca |
| 1957 | After Glow | Decca |
| 1957 | Carmen for Cool Ones | Decca |
| 1958 | Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport (Released 2001) | Verve |
| 1958 | Boy Meets Girl (with Sammy Davis, Jr.) | Decca |
| 1959 | Porgy and Bess (with Sammy Davis, Jr.) | Decca, Brunswick |
| 1960 | Book of Ballads | Kapp |
| 1961 | Take Five Live (with Dave Brubeck) | Columbia |
| 1961 | Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics | Columbia |
| 1962 | The Real Ambassadors | Columbia |
| 1962 | Something Wonderful | Columbia |
| 1965 | Alive! | Columbia |
| 1967 | For Once in My Life | Atlantic |
| 1967 | Sounds of Silence | Atlantic |
| 1967 | Portrait of Carmen | Atlantic |
| 1970 | Just a Little Lovin' | Atlantic |
| 1972 | The Great American Songbook (Live rec.) | Atlantic |
| 1975 | Live at Century Plaza | Atlantic |
| 1975 | I Am Music | Blue Note |
| 1977 | At the Great American Music Hall | Blue Note |
| 1980 | Two for the Road (with George Shearing) | Concord Jazz |
| 1982 | Heat Wave (with Cal Tjader) | Concord Jazz |
| 1983 | You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs) | Concord Jazz |
| 1987 | What Do the Words Say (with Ray Brown) | Blue Music Group |
| 1987 | The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duets (Live, with Betty Carter) | Great American Music Hall |
| 1988 | Fine and Mellow: Live at Birdland West (Live) | Concord |
| 1988 | Carmen Sings Monk | Novus |
| 1990 | Sarah: Dedicated to You | Novus |
Filmography
Movies
- 1956: The Square Jungle, herself[8]
- 1960: The Subterraneans, played herself[9]
- 1967: Hotel, played Christine[10]
- 1986: Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, played the grandmother[11]
Television[e
- 1976: Soul
- 1976: Sammy and Company
- 1979: Carmen McRae in Concert
- 1979: Roots: The Next Generations, played Lila[12]
- 1980: From Jumpstreet
- 1981: At the Palace
- 1981: Billie Holiday. A Tribute
- 1982: L. A. Jazz
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