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Lena Horne

Lena Horne, the beautiful, elegant, talented singer and actress has become a legend. Her strong sense of her own identity, of justice, and of dignity forced her to struggle against social adversity, and allowed her to triumph. Music is just a part of her story.

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, her parents separated by the time she was three years old, and she lived for several years with her paternal grandparents. Her early life was nomadic: Horne's mother, who was a fairly unsuccessful stage performer, took the young Lena on the road with her, and they lived in various parts of the South before returning to Horne's grandparents' home in Brooklyn in 1931

Horne had early ambitions to be a performer--against the wishes of her family, who believed that she should aspire to greater heights. Nevertheless, Lena persisted, and in 1933 she began her first professional engagement, at the Cotton Club, the famed Harlem nightclub. She sang in the chorus, and though only sixteen years old, held her own among the older and more experienced cast members. She soon left high school to devote herself to her stage career.

In 1934 Horne had a small role in an all-black Broadway show called ‘Dance with Your Gods.’ The next year, she left the Cotton Club and began performing as the featured singer with Noble Sissle's Society Orchestra under the name "Helena Horne," which Sissle thought more glamorous than "Lena." In 1937 Horne quit her tour with the Sissle Orchestra to marry Louis Jones, a friend of her father. During this short and troubled marriage, Horne went to Hollywood to appear in an all-black film called ‘The Duke Is Tops.’ In 1939 she had a role in the musical revue ‘Blackbirds of 1939’ at the Hudson Theatre in New York City; it ran for only eight nights. Before her marriage to Jones ended in divorce, she had two children, Gail and Edwin ("Teddy").

Horne left Jones in 1940, taking a job as a singer with Charlie Barnet's band and going out on tour with him. Horne was the only black member of the ensemble, and the kind of racial discrimination she encountered from audiences, hotel managers, and others was so unsettling that she decided to quit the band. In 1941, she began performing at the Cafe Society Downtown, a club in New York City that catered to intellectuals and social activists, both black and white.At the Cafe Society, Horne learned about black history, politics, and culture and developed a new appreciation for her heritage. From this point on, Horne became a significant voice in the struggle for equality and justice for blacks in America.

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Radio & Podcasts

Save The Country - Songs Celebrating July 4th, New Releases, Birthday Shoutouts and More

Read "Save The Country - Songs Celebrating July 4th, New Releases, Birthday Shoutouts and More" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


This broadcast presents new releases from pianist Caili O'Doherty, bassist Michael Fiorino, the Nikos Chatzitsakos Tiny Big Band and a special digital reissue of Salome Bey's debut album, plus birthday shoutouts to Lena Horne, Tierney Sutton, Brandee Younger, Rhoda Scott, Madeline Eastman and Queen Esther, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of pandemic so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire.Playlist Wayne Wallace ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Struttin With Some Barbeque - Celebrating July 4 with Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne and Friends

Read "Struttin With Some Barbeque - Celebrating July 4 with Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne and Friends" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


The Independence Day broadcast included new releases from Jimmy Heath featuring Cecile McLorin Salvant, vocalists Kathleen Grace, Melody Gardot and drummer Jake Reed with birthday shoutouts to Rhoda Scott, Lena Horne, Natalie Cressman and Louis Armstrong (yes we know, it's really in August but he claimed July 4 for his own and who are we to argue) . Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of lockdown. Playlist ...

466
Book Review

Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne

Read "Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne James Gavin Hardcover; 608 pages ISBN: 0743271432 Simon and Schuster 2009...it just keeps rainin' all the time...

If James Gavin's biography of trumpeter Chet Baker, Deep In A Dream (Knopf, 2002), was a study of the slow motion, black hole implosion of a life into addiction and dissolution, then Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne is a survey in the ...

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Film Review

An Evening with Lena Horne

Read "An Evening with Lena Horne" reviewed by Jim Santella


Lena Horne An Evening with Lena Horne Blue Note 2006

The sentiment that comes embedded in Lena Horne's classy 1994 concert performance at the Supper Club in New York, is enough to carry the show all by itself. Her magnetic personality gives the cabaret performance a full charge of passion that's complemented by her convincing vocal expressions. She's a born communicator.

This performance was broadcast on the A&E television network ...

263
Album Review

Lena Horne: Seasons of a Life

Read "Seasons of a Life" reviewed by Stephen Latessa


The recording studio is not always the best place for an artist to showcase their skills. Performers who have achieved their greatest success playing in front of an audience may in fact be unable to duplicate in the sterile confines of the studio that elusive talent that makes them so compelling on stage. Just as the craft of acting for the camera demands a different approach than acting in a theater, so too must a singer adjust when captured on ...

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Album Review

Lena Horne: Seasons of a Life

Read "Seasons of a Life" reviewed by Jim Santella


Over seventy for these performances and still swinging, Lena Horne sounds great. She's emotional and somewhat sentimental, but her performances always leave you with the feeling that you've just shared some quality time with an old friend.

Previously unissued, but recorded in 1994-2000 sessions that resulted in Classic Ellington, An Evening With Lena Horne, We'll Be Together Again, the Lulu on the Bridge soundtrack, and Being Myself, this Blue Note compilation carries vintage Lena Horne to its fullest. ...

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Album Review

Lena Horne: Being Myself

Read "Being Myself" reviewed by AAJ Staff


"Come in and join the party," Lena calls, slapping her long fingers on an empty seat.

You best take her invitation, ‘cuz Ms. Horne knows of what she sings. Long-established as a jazz legend, Lena Horne continues her reign as queen of the blue note with her latest Blue Note release. In addition to touching up personal favorites such as "As Long As I Live" (which sparkles as brightly as when Horne performed it live for her classic concert collection ...

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Music Industry

Lena Horne: Merry From Lena, 1966

Lena Horne: Merry From Lena, 1966

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Once again, it's that time of year to induct a new entry into the JazzWax Vintage Holiday Album Hall of Fame. This year marks the Hall's 16th season and one of JazzWax's oldest annual traditions. This year's inductee is Merry From Lena, by Lena Horne. Released by United Artists in 1966, the album was produced by Ray Ellis (Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin) and orchestrated and conducted by Jack Parnell. The vocalist was in fine, swinging form. Now meet the ...

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Recording

Lena Horne and Gabor Szabo

Lena Horne and Gabor Szabo

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

There are plenty of jazz albums in the rock era that, on paper, never should have worked but did and still do, exceptionally well. Joe Pass's The Stones Jazz (1966) is one. Paul Desmond's Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) is another. Add Lena & Gabor (1970) to the list. When the album by vocalist Lena Horne backed by guitarist Gábor Szabó was released in 1970, it came out on Skye Records, a label formed in 1968 by Szabó, vibraphonist Cal ...

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Event

Stephanie Jordan Big Band Tribute To Lena Horne At Baton Rouge Community College Black History Month Concert

Stephanie Jordan Big Band Tribute To Lena Horne At Baton Rouge Community College Black History Month Concert

Source: Sylvain Music Notes

jny: NEW ORLEANS, LA: New Orleans jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan will perform a tribute concert in honor of the legendary Lena Horne at the Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) Magnolia Performing Arts Theater, 201 Community College Drive (Florida Blvd.), Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Thursday, February 26, 2015, at 6:00 pm. Sponsored by the BRCC Student Government Association (SGA), the concert is free and open to the public. For additional information, please call (225) 216-8679. The Stephanie Jordan Big Band will ...

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Performance / Tour

Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Presents Stephanie Jordan In A Tribute To Lena Horne

Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Presents Stephanie Jordan In A Tribute To Lena Horne

Source: Sylvain Music Notes

Hilton Hotel * Rockville, Maryland * Sunday, February 17 @ 8:30 PM The Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival (MAJF) in Rockville, MD welcomes New Orleans jazz singer Stephanie Jordan in a tribute to the fabulous Lena Horne on Sunday, February 18, 2013 at 8:30pm on the Ronnie Wells Main Stage at the Hilton Hotel. The Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, in the grand tradition of the East Coast Jazz Festival has become a mid-winter tradition in the Washington, DC metro region, attracting thousands of ...

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Event

Stephanie Jordan Pays Tribute To Lena Horne During Southern Mississippi’s Mlk Birthday Celebration

Stephanie Jordan Pays Tribute To Lena Horne During Southern Mississippi’s Mlk Birthday Celebration

Source: Sylvain Music Notes

Ocean Springs, MS - In conjunction with the Committee for Coast-Wide Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, New Orleans jazz singer Stephanie Jordan is gracing the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center stage, 1600 Government Street in Ocean Springs, Mississippi on Saturday, January 19, at 7:00pm, with a tribute to the fabulous ((Lena Horne}}. Seating is reserved and limited. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at the Mary C Box Office or online at http://www.themaryc.org/Tickets/Index.html, or by phone at ...

Performance / Tour

Ocean Springs Welcomes Stephanie Jordan Sings A Tribute To The Fabulous Lena Horne

Ocean Springs Welcomes Stephanie Jordan Sings A Tribute To The Fabulous Lena Horne

Source: Sylvain Music Notes

New Orleans jazz singer Stephanie Jordan is gracing the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center stage in Ocean Springs, Mississippi on Saturday, January 19, at 7:00pm, with a tribute to the fabulous Lena Horne. She brought down the house at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz Festival with her tribute to Lena Horne show, which she has performed nationally and promises to please the Ocean Springs audience just as well. Accompanied by Emmy-award winning arranger Mike Esneault on piano, the Stephanie Jordan ...

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Festival

New Orleans Jazz Fest Presents The Stephanie Jordan Big Band In A Tribute To Lena Horne This Friday

New Orleans Jazz Fest Presents The Stephanie Jordan Big Band In A Tribute To Lena Horne This Friday

Source: Sylvain Music Notes

NEW ORLEANS, LA: The Stephanie Jordan Big Band performs this Friday, April 27, 2012 at 4:00 PM in the Zatarain’s / WWOZ Jazz Tent at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Presented by Shell. Stephanie Jordan will fill the air with her signature Big Band sound continuing her signature trademark of singing jazz standards. The show will include tunes from her newly released self-produced CD, “Stephanie Jordan Sings a Tribute to the Fabulous Lena Horne; Yesterday When I ...

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Recording

Stephanie Jordan debuts Tribute CD to Lena Horne at Café Istanbul on Friday, April 13

Stephanie Jordan debuts Tribute CD to Lena Horne at Café Istanbul on Friday, April 13

Source: Sylvain Music Notes

NEW ORLEANS, LA: The long awaited debut album by New Orleans jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan has finally arrived. The Stephanie Jordan Big Band will host a CD Release Party at Café Istanbul during French Quarter Fest weekend in the Healing Center located at 2372 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana on Friday, April 13, 2012 at 8:00 PM. The new CD; “Stephanie Jordan Sings a Tribute to the Fabulous Lena Horne" honors the legendary Grammy Award winner who starred in ...

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Video / DVD

Lena Horne

Lena Horne

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey


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Performance / Tour

Black History Month: Tribute to Lena Horne at Berklee Performance Center in Boston on February 22, Featuring Jo Thompson

Black History Month: Tribute to Lena Horne at Berklee Performance Center in Boston on February 22, Featuring Jo Thompson

Source: MassJazz: Jazz in Massachusetts

Jazz musicians, dancers and professors —led by vocalist Jo Thompson—are gathering in Boston for a tribute to Lena Horne—a trailblazer in music,dance, film, human and civil rights. The event takes place on Tuesday, February 22, 2011, at the Berklee Performing Center, located at 136 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston's Back Bay. For directions click here. General admission is $10 and tickets can be ordered online. The show begins at 8:15 p.m. Along with this all-star big band concert, the tribute includes ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

MGM Records Collection

Hip-O Select Records
2010

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The Lady Is A Tramp

Captain Earth
2005

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Seasons of a Life

Blue Note Records
2005

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Being Myself

Blue Note Records
2003

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