Carmen McRae | |
|---|---|
 McRaec. 1960 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Carmen Mercedes McRae (1920-04-08)April 8, 1920 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 10, 1994(1994-11-10) (aged 74) |
| Genres | Jazz,vocal jazz,traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1939–1991 |
| Labels | Decca,Kapp,Columbia,Mainstream,Atlantic,Blue Note,Concord,Novus |
| Formerly of | 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 Americanjazz singer.[1] She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics.[2]
McRae was born inHarlem,New York City, United States.[1] Her father, Osmond, and mother, Evadne (Gale) McRae, were immigrants fromJamaica. She began studying piano when she was eight, and the music of jazz greats such asLouis Armstrong andDuke Ellington filled her home. When she was 17 years old, she met singerBillie Holiday. As a teenager McRae came to the attention ofTeddy Wilson and his wife, the composerIrene Kitchings. One of McRae's early songs, "Dream of Life", was, through their influence, recorded in 1939 by Wilson's long-time collaborator Billie Holiday.[3][4] McRae considered Holiday to be her primary influence.[5]
In her late teens and early twenties, McRae played piano atMinton's Playhouse, sang as a chorus girl, and worked as a secretary. It was at Minton's where she mettrumpeterDizzy Gillespie,bassistOscar Pettiford, anddrummerKenny Clarke, had her first important job as a pianist withBenny Carter's big band (1944), worked withCount Basie (1944) and under the name "Carmen Clarke" (having married Clarke)[4] made her first recording as pianist with theMercer Ellington Band (1946–47). But it was while working inBrooklyn that she came to the attention ofDecca'sMilt Gabler. Her five-year association with Decca yielded 12 LPs.
In 1948, she moved toChicago with comedian andimpressionistGeorge Kirby, with whom she had fallen in love. At the end of the relationship, she worked as a pianist and singer at the Archway Lounge. She played piano steadily for almost four years at a number of clubs in Chicago before returning to New York in 1952. In Chicago she developed her own specific style. Those years in Chicago, McRae toldJazz Forum, "gave me whatever it is that I have now. That's the most prominent schooling I ever had."[6]
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 byDownBeat magazine. McRae married twice: to drummerKenny Clarke from 1944 to 1956, though they separated in 1948; and to bassistIke Isaacs from 1956 to 1967.[citation needed] Both marriages ended in divorce.[7][8]
Among her most interesting recording projects wereMad About The Man (1957) with composerNoël Coward,Boy Meets Girl (1957) withSammy Davis Jr., participating inDave Brubeck'sThe Real Ambassadors (1961) withLouis Armstrong, a tribute albumYou're Lookin' at Me (A Collection ofNat King Cole Songs) (1983), cutting an album of live duets withBetty Carter,The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duets (1987), being accompanied byDave Brubeck andGeorge Shearing, and closing her career with tributes toThelonious Monk,Carmen Sings Monk (1990), andSarah 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 entitledFor 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 asTake Five Live (1961) withDave Brubeck,Two for the Road (1980) withGeorge Shearing, andHeat Wave (1982) withCal Tjader. The latter two albums were part of a notable eight-year relationship withConcord Jazz.
McRae sang in jazz clubs throughout the United States—and across the world—for more than fifty years.[1] She was a popular performer at theMonterey Jazz Festival (1961–63, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1982), performing with Duke Ellington's orchestra at theNorth Sea Jazz Festival in 1980, singing "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and at theMontreux Jazz Festival in 1989.[9] She left New York forSouthern California in the late 1960s, but appeared in New York regularly, usually at theBlue Note, where she performed two engagements a year through most of the 1980s. In May–June 1988, she collaborated withHarry Connick Jr. on the song "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" (S. Clare & S. Stept) in New York City at the RCA Studios, for Connick's debut album,20.[8] 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 inBeverly Hills, California, at the age of 74.[1] She had fallen into a semi-coma four days earlier, a month after being hospitalized for astroke.[10][11]
| Year | Category | Title | Label | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Best Jazz Performance - Soloist | Carmen McRae | Atlantic | Nominee |
| 1977 | Best Jazz Vocal Performance | 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 |
| Year | Organization | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | NAACP | NAACP Image Awards | Winner |
| 1994 | National Endowment for the Arts | NEA Jazz Masters | Winner |
