By Russ:
An American jazz singer/ songwriter considered one of the most influential female jazz vocalists of the 20th century, she is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics.
An outstanding song stylist, Carmen McRae’s great strength was in her phrasing and interpretation of lyrics, especially in ballads.
Tender and warm with a ballad, Carmen McRae was one of the great singers of jazz, finding the depth of feeling in the lyrics of the songs she interpreted. An accomplished pianist who in her early career accompanied herself, she occasionally returned to the piano later in life.
McCrae’s greatest idol was Billie Holiday, whom she praised on record and in performances on many occasions. She drew inspiration from Holiday, but established her own distinctive voice, going on to record over 60 albums, enjoying a rich musical career, performing and recording in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Carmen Mercedes McRae
(April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994)
Videos:
1957 / Perdido / After Glow album
.
1957 / Carmen McCrae and Sammy Davis Jr / A Fine Romance
.
1962 / Love For Sale
.
Round Midnight
.
This Will Make You Laugh
.
1972 / Medley / Easy Living, The Days Of Wine And Roses / recorded at Donte’s in Los Angeles / from the album, “The Great American Songbook”
.
1974 / Carmen McCrae with Count Basie / Bye Bye Blackbird
.
1977 / Carmen McCrae & Sarah Vaughan / Body And Soul
.
1986 / No More Blues (Carlos Jobim)
.
1988 / Beautiful Friendship / Carmen playing piano with Dizzy Gillespie
.
1990 / Carmen McCrae at the piano / I’m In The Mood For Love
.
Audio:
BIO
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_McRae
Prince.org: (Excellent timeline) https://prince.org/msg/8/457076
Carmen Mercedes McRae was born on April 8, 1920 in Harlem, New York. Her father Osmond Llewelyn McRae was born in Santa Cruz, Jamaica in 1891; he moved from Jamaica to Costa Rica, to Cuba, and then to New York City, where Carmen was born to Osmond and his second wife Evadne (originally Evadne Gayle).
Carmen learned to play piano at a young age. She graduated from Julia Richman High School in 1938 and she won an amateur singing contest at the Apollo Theatre around 1939.
While still in her teens, through private piano lessons McCrae met jazz pianist, composer and arranger Irene Kitchings, who was the former wife of jazz pianist Teddy Wilson.
McRae credited Kitchings as being her mentor for steering her career as a singer and for helping her connect with vocalist Billie Holiday. Holiday would also have a profound effect on McRae’s career, helping her to shape her own sound.
Irene Kitchings helped young Carmen become involved in the Harlem jazz scene. Carmen worked in the chorus at Club Harlem in Atlantic City. Her singing reflected the influences of Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan.
After spending several years singing in Chicago, Illinois, Minton’s Playhouse in New York hired her as a pianist and then as a member of Tony Scott’s band. During the Bebop era, Carmen played intermission piano at Minton’s.
Recognized as a Songwriter
McCrae achieved her first claim to fame in 1939 when she wrote the song “Dream of Life” and her idol Billie Holiday recorded it for the Vocalion / Okeh label.
—
Here is Carmen’s interpretation of her own song.
.
In the early 1940s McRae sang with the Benny Carter, Count Basie, and Mercer Ellington big bands. She married jazz drummer Kenny Clarke, and in 1946 made her recording debut as Carmen Clarke.
.
During the early 1950s, McRae recorded songs on the Stardust, Venus, and Bethlehem labels. In 1954, she was named “Most Promising New Vocalist” in the Down Beat critics’ poll and “Singer of the Year” by Metronome.
In 1955 she signed with the Decca recording label, which led to her national success. She was then able to record her first album as a leader. While working for Decca, she would record “Skyliner,” “By Special Request,” “After Glow,” “Something to Swing About,” “Suppertime,” “Torchy,” “Blue Moon” and “Star Eyes”.
.
In 1956, she married her second husband, bassist Ike Isaacs, but that marriage also soon ended in divorce.
In the late 1960s, McRae moved to California to be near family. For the next thirty years, McRae sang throughout the world and continued to record albums, including tributes to Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, and Sarah Vaughan.
Throughout her career, she won various awards and recognitions, including Down Beat’s Best New Female Singer (1954), six Grammy award nominations, an award from the NAACP, and the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Jazz Masters Fellowship Award.
For years, McRae focused her attention on honing her art and her own musical personality. She collaborated with musicians such as pianist Dave Brubeck and guitarist Joe Pass.
She also started acting, landing bit parts in the TV miniseries Roots and the movie Jo Jo Dancer with comedian Richard Pryor. However, her principal acting gig was in her interpretation of song lyrics. Writer Ralph Gleason once described McRae’s singing as “a short one-woman exercise in dramatic art.”
A heavy smoker, McRae suffered from respiratory failure in May 1991. She realized that she was too ill to perform. A few years later, she suffered from a stroke and never recovered.
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 the stroke.
Carmen McRae’s music, however, lives on.
Binge section
For those who want to immerse in deeper depths of the life and music of Carmen McCrae…
1977 / Angela Davis Interviews Carmen McCrae / 24 minutes
talks with activist Angela Davis in San Francisco on November 18, 1977. The interview was recorded around the time of McRae’s show at Club Mocambo in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. McRae discusses her early career as a pianist, her approach to performance, women’s involvement in show business, and her experiences with Charlie Parker
1986 / Carmen McRae Live in Tokyo / 1 hour 20 minutes
Vintage Carmen McCrae / All The Best / Album / 1 hour 20 minutes
.
The Complete Carmen McCrae Discography
https://web.archive.org/web/20090412153822/http://www.carmenmcraediscography.com/
–oo–
Russ & Gary's "The Best Years of Music" 