Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Susannah McCorkle was born on January 1, 1946 in Berkeley, California and studied modern languages prior to starting her career in singing. She was inspired to begin singing professionally after hearing some Billie Holiday recordings in Paris in the late Sixties, while also holding a position an interpreter at the European Commission in Brussels. But a move to London in 1972 sealed her commitment to pursue her singing career.
While in the UK, she made two albums which, although well received, In the late 1970s, Susannah returned to the United States and settled in New York City, where a five-month engagement at the Cookery in Greenwich Village brought her to wider public attention and elicited rave reviews and critical acclaim.
During the 1980s, McCorkle continued to record, maturing style and darkening the timbre of her voice. This greatly enhanced her performances and by the early 1990s, two of the Concord Record albums she recorded, No More Blues and Sábia, were enormously successful and made her name known to the wider world. She was recorded by the Smithsonian Institution, which at the time made her the youngest singer ever to have been included in its popular music series.
Thanks to her linguistic skills Susannah translated lyrics of Brazilian, French, and Italian songs. As an author she published several short stories as well as fiction in Mademoiselle and Cosmopolitan magazines, and non-fiction in the New York Times Magazine and American Heritage including lengthy articles on Ethel Waters, Irving Berlin Bessie Smith and Mae West.
Though a survivor of breast cancer, vocalist Susannah McCorkle suffered for many years from depression until finally committing suicide on May 19, 2001 at age 55. She leapt off the balcony of her 16th-floor apartment on West 86th Street in Manhattan. She was alone in her home at the time.
Put A Dose In Your Pocket
More Posts: vocal
Hollywood On 52nd Street
Love Letters is a 1945 popular song composed by Victor Young with lyrics written by Edward Heyman. The song appeared, without lyrics, in the movie of the same name and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Song for 1945. The film starred Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper and Anita Louise.
The Story: The plot tells the story of American soldier Alan Quinton in Italy during WWII who has been writing letters for his friend Roger Morland to Victoria Remington, expressing feelings he could never say in person. Realizing she has fallen in love with him and that she will be disappointed in the real Roger, he abruptly leaves for paratrooper training in England. However, it is Alan who is falling in love with Victoria.
Injured, Alan discovers Roger and Victoria are both dead. Hereturns to England, spends time with his fiancé Helen Wentworth, lives at his aunt’s farm and is taken to a party by his brother. He meets Dilly Carson and Singleton, relates the Roger/Victoria story, Dilly realizes its Singleton and that the letters were somehow involved.
Singleton is actually Victoria, an amnesiac woman with two personalities, who killed his soldier friend, Roger. However, after spending time with her she realizes Alan is in love with her but not that she is Victoria. They marry after getting permission from her adopted mother, Beatrice Remington, bit the marriage is scarred by Alan’s love for Victoria.
Talking with Beatrice, Singleton begins to remember her abusive marriage to Roger and that it is Beatrice who stabbed him to death as Victoria attempts to save the letters thrown into the fireplace. Alan arrives at the house, Victoria recalls her true identity and they fall into each other’s arms.
Sponsored By
www.whatissuitetabu.com
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Chet Baker was born Chesney Henry Baker, Jr. on December 23, 1929 in Yale, Oklahoma. Raised in the musical household of a professional guitar player, he began his musical career singing in church, and then introduced to the trombone, but proved to large it was replaced with the trumpet.
Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the Army, serving in the 298th Army band. After his discharge in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles, dropped out in his second year and re-enlisting joined the army band at the Presidio but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. Once again discharged he pursued his career as a professional musician.
Chet’s earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso band and with Stan but earned much more renown in 1951 when Charlie Parker chose him to play a series of West Coast engagements. In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon due to contrapuntal touches.
With Mulligan serving a sentence on drug charges, Pacific Jazz picked up Baker in 1956 releasing Chet Baker Sings to the consternation of purists, but it increased his profile. He would go on to perform and record with Russ Freeman, Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, Jimmy Bond, Art Pepper and Shelley Manne among others, win the Downbeat Jazz Poll, make his acting debut in Hell’s Horizon, front his own combos, and become an icon in the West Coast cool jazz movement.
However successful Baker became his lifelong battle with heroin brought a decline to his musical career, pawning instruments, serving prison sentences, encountering expulsion and deportation from European countries, savagely beaten and losing his teeth and ability to play. Chet’s comeback came with being fitted with dentures, relocating to New York and Europe, playing with Philip Catherine, Phil Markowitz, Stan Getz and returning with his most prolific recording era between 1978 and 1988, though on mostly small European labels that never reached wide audience attention.
Chet Baker, composer, flugelhornist and trumpeter who popularity was due in part to his matinee-idol good looks and well publicized drug habit, and who was associated most prominently with his rendition of My Funny Valentine and his documentary Let’s Get Lost, passed away on May 13, 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Take A Dose On The Road
More Posts: flugelhorn,trumpet,vocal
Hollywood On 52nd Street
Laura is a jazz standard written for the 1944 American film noir produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The theme song was composed by Johnny Mercer nd David Raksin. The movie starred Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and Clifton Webb with supporting cast comprised of Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson.
The Story: New York City police detective Mark McPherson (played by Andrews) is investigating the murder of beautiful and highly successful advertising executive, Laura Hunt (Tierney). A series of interviews leads McPherson to the people in Laura’s life – decadent newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker (Webb), parasitic playboy fiancé, Shelby Carpenter (Price) and her aunt Ann Treadwell (Anderson) who has been carrying on with Carpenter and giving him money. Through the ensuing investigation McPherson falls in love with the dead woman’s image only to discover that she is alive and that another girl was murdered. He now only has to learn the identity of the murderer in order to save Laura.
Sponsored By
www.whatissuitetabu.com
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
George V. Johnson Jr. was born on December 20, 1950 in Washington, D.C. Self taught, he was first exposed to music by singing and participating regular with church and school choirs while listening and emulating records played by his parents. He attended Prince George’s Community College then went on to matriculate through Howard University School of Fine Arts.
A composer, George writes lyrics about complex things: personal experiences, love, history, family, home, heaven and jazz. Phrases turn, emotions connect and melodies soar with his natural gift of writing lyrics and poetry. Meeting pianist John Malachi was fortuitous as he helped shape and guide Johnson’s career over the next 15 years.
He met a major influence, Eddie Jefferson, and performed or recorded with Lou Donaldson and James Moody, has performed at numerous jazz festivals and tributes, played various nightclubs and toured Europe. He has penned lyrics to more than 40 Hank Mobley compositions as part of the Second Floor Music project that has single handedly kept vocalese alive.
Over a 35 year career, vocalist, lyricist, actor, playwright, producer, promoter, composer George Johnson has played with legendary jazz musicians and vocalists such as Lou Donaldson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Shirley Horn, Dizzy Gillespie, John Hicks, Billy Higgins, Rufus Reid, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Tony Williams, Kurt Lightsey and the list continues. He continues to perform, and record.
Give A Gift Of Jazz – Share
More Posts: vocal