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Patti Austin | |
|---|---|
 Austin in 2000 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1950-08-10)August 10, 1950 (age 75) Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B,pop,jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Labels | |
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an AmericanGrammy Award-winningR&B,pop, andjazz singer and songwriter. Austin has collaborated with the likes ofJames Ingram,Steely Dan andQuincy Jones. She's acquired an honorary doctorate from theBerklee College of Music. Austin has also won oneGrammy out of seven nominations.[1][2]
Austin was born inHarlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, ajazz trombonist.[3] She was raised inBay Shore, New York on Long Island.[4]Quincy Jones andDinah Washington referred to themselves as her godparents.[5][6] Her father was black and her mother's parents were fromBarbados andSweden.
When Austin was four years old, she performed at theApollo Theater. As a teenager she recorded commercial jingles and worked as a session singer in soul and R&B. She had an R&B hit in 1969 with "Family Tree".[6] She sang backing vocals onPaul Simon's 1975number-one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and had prominent parts onFrankie Valli's hit solo records "Swearin' to God" and "Our Day Will Come."[7] The jazz labelCTI released her debut album,End of a Rainbow, in 1976.[8] She sang backing vocals on the track "Everybody has a Dream" forBilly Joel's hit albumThe Stranger (album) in 1977. She sang "The Closer I Get to You" forTom Browne's albumBrowne Sugar,a duet with Michael Jackson for his albumOff the Wall, and a duet withGeorge Benson on "Moody's Mood for Love".[8]
After singing on Quincy Jones's albumThe Dude, she signed a contract with his record label,Qwest, which releasedEvery Home Should Have One with "Baby, Come to Me", a duet with James Ingram that became a No. 1 hit on theBillboard magazine pop chart. A second duet with Ingram, "How Do You Keep the Music Playing", appeared on soundtrack to the filmBest Friends (1982). Her final album for Qwest,The Real Me contained versions of jazz standards. Austin moved on to[8]GRP for four releases, includingLove Is Gonna Getcha, which contained the singles "Good in Love" and "Through the Test of Time".[8]
Austin was booked forUnited Flight 93 onSeptember 11, 2001, but because her mother suffered a stroke days before, she cancelled her ticket and flew at a different time.[9]
In 2003, she collaborated withFrances Yip onPapillon III in the rotunda ofSan Francisco City Hall to help theJade Ribbon Campaign of Stanford University. A companion CD/DVD was released with Austin and Yip singing duets in Mandarin.[10]
A performance in 2000 with the Germany-basedWDR Big Band[6] led to later recordings with the Germany-based ensemble that yielded two of Austin's six Grammy nominations:[11]For Ella (2002) was a tribute toElla Fitzgerald.[6][8] A 2007 release with the band and arranger Michael Abene,Avant Gershwin, earned her the trophy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.[12][13]
During a 2007 interview, Austin spoke of reluctantly attending as a teenager one ofJudy Garland's last concerts and how the experience helped focus her career. "She ripped my heart out. I wanted to interpret a lyric like that, to present who I was at the moment through the lyric."[14]
In 2011,Sound Advice was released containing cover versions ofBob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody",Brenda Russell's "A Little Bit of Love", the Jackson Five's "Give It Up", Bill Withers' "Lean on Me", andDon McLean's "Vincent". The album also included "The Grace of God", a song Austin wrote after watching an episode of theOprah Winfrey Show which included a woman with scarred face. Austin appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary film20 Feet from Stardom, which premiered at theSundance Film Festival and was released on June 21, 2013.[15]
In 2015, Austin appeared on Patrick Williams'Home Suite Home large jazz ensemble album, as vocalist for Williams' composition "52nd & Broadway," which won a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals.[16]
TheGrammy Awards are awarded annually by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Austin has received one award out of seven nominations.[1]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | "Razzamatazz (Track)" | Nominated |
| 1984 | Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal | How Do You Keep The Music Playing (Single) | Nominated |
| 1985 | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | "Patti Austin" | Nominated |
| 1995 | Best Instrumental Arrangement With Accompanying Vocal(s) | "Ability To Swing (Track)" | Nominated |
| 2003 | Best Jazz Vocal Album | For Ella | Nominated |
| 2008 | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Avant Gershwin | Won |
| 2024 | Best Jazz Vocal Album | For Ella 2 | Nominated |
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Wiz | The Wiz Singers Children's Choir / The Wiz Singers Adult Choir (voice) |
| 1988 | Tucker: The Man and His Dream | Millie |
| 2013 | 20 Feet from Stardom | Herself |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
