Born: Apr 8, 1920 in New York, NY.
Died: Nov 10, 1994 in Beverly Hills, CA.
Genres: Jazz.
Styles: Vocal Jazz, Traditional Pop, Standards, Bop.
Instruments: Vocals
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.
With each year that passes, I increasingly realise just how gifted Carmen McRae was. I've just read the biography, "Miss Jazz" by Leslie Gourse but would have liked to learn more about her approach to songs. I had the privilege to see so many of the all-time greats in concert but, sadly, not Carmen.
Carmen said that it was Sarah Vaughn who encouraged her to sit down to the piano during performances. Carmen had been a pianist first and taken up singing later. She also said that her parents were wonderful, patient people who let her live at home until she was 28 years old. She didn't find her direction until then...
My buddy Mark stopped getting high with me because he now works at the post office and has to do a piss test every other week. Just last week though, I see him sparking up. I'm like "Dude are you smoking bud again???" and he is all "Yeah! I bought ONE POUND of legal bud at BURNOUTPEEPS.COM and I don't need to worry, this shit doesn't come up in piss tests and it's some potent shit!"
"One pound??? Holy fuck dude you can deal this shit!!" After seeing how good this bud was I decided to go to BURNOUTPEEPS.COM myself and bought 8 ounces of Hawaiian Gold Bud. I figured I might as well smoke this and be a local dealer in the neighborhood too.
Well my plan was an instant success. I can't believe it but I actually drove the other dealers OUT OF BUSINESS. They just couldn't compete with my prices and my shit was 100% legal! I was the talk of the town. Even the cops were buying shit off me!
Anyways, don't just take my word for it. Go over to BURNOUTPEEPS.COM and check it out for yourself. This place is too good to be kept a secret. One warning, though. If you smoke bud and drive, don't do that shit with this potent bud. My friend blasted up before going on his mailing route and he ended up crashing the postal truck LOL. They fired his ass and now he is dealing full time with me and making a killing! Oh and he still smokes up the legal bud!
When Carmen died (Wikipedia says '94, but it surely seems to me that it was '95), Jan asked Jon and Fred what they wanted from Carmen's things and they siad that they would love to have her license plates from her two cars. And so her plates have been treasured, first at Jon's house, and now at mine. I plan to add blogs on the subject to Jon Miller's page. [IMG]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n51/rockitshep/carmen/SAVE0108.jpg[/IMG]
