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Marlena Shaw

She's known as a jazz artist, but some only knew her as a disco artist, while others yet think of her in an R&B mode. So who is Marlena Shaw? Well... she is all of these. Ask Marlena and she'll flat out tell you she's a jazz artist, yet there's no denying her R&B sides and her disco undertakings.

Born Marlina Burgess on September 22, 1942 in New Rochelle, New York, she inherited her love of music and jazz in particular from her uncle. After her uncle, Jimmy Burgess, introduced her to the recordings of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, she caught the jazz bug, and purchased records by Al Hibbler, a vocalist who had a big influence on her singing style. When she was ten she performed at Harlem's Apollo Theater, and despite the enthusiastic reception she received in front of one of the world's toughest audiences, her mother refused to let her go on the road with her uncle, a trumpet player.

Shaw began attending the State Teachers' College in Potsdam, N.Y. but later dropped out. For a time in 1963 she worked around New England with a trio led by Howard McGhee. By the mid-1960's she was performing regularly for audiences in the Catskills, Playboy clubs and other New York area clubs. She was discovered by Chess Records in 1966 while singing on the Playboy lounge circuit. On Chess' Cadet subsidiary, under the aegis of producer Richard Evans, she performed vocal counterparts of jazz hits such as "Mercy Mercy Mercy" by Cannonball Adderley and "Wade In The Water" by Ramsey Lewis Trio. Chess released two albums and a series of singles before Shaw left the company in 1968.

Through her accountant, she was brought to the attention of bandleader Count Basie, and she ended up singing with the Basie band for four years. In 1972, after leaving the Basie Orchestra, Shaw was the first female vocalist signed to Blue Note Records, and she toured for a while with the late Sammy Davis, Jr. Shaw recorded five albums and several singles for Blue Note, and critics likened her singing style to Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan.

By 1977 Shaw was ready for a move. The move was two- fold, first to a new label, Columbia Records, and secondly to the more profitable pop and R&B arena. Her first offering was "Sweet Beginnings." It produced the out-of-the-box smash "Yu-Ma/Go Away Little Boy" which has since become her trademark song. A second album followed in 1978, "Acting Up" which was finely crafted and well produced and contained the hit single "Don't Ask To Stay Until Tomorrow." The song was the theme from the blockbuster movie "Looking For Mr. Goodbar."

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New York Beat

Marlena Shaw at Jazz Au Bar

Read "Marlena Shaw at Jazz Au Bar" reviewed by Nick Catalano


Of all the references that reviewers use to describe jazz performances perhaps the most common is the term “swing." We are all familiar with it and yet it is one of the most difficult expressions to define precisely. Its essence involves subtle and artistic variations of established rhythms but the many techniques involved in this subtlety are too numerous to go into here. We can all agree that few jazzers have “swung" more mightily than figures like Count Basie, Ella ...

176
Album Review

Marlena Shaw: Lookin' for Love

Read "Lookin' for Love" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger


In today's garden of vocalists, there are many pretty flowers. Sweet and delicate, they line up in perfumed rows, but many are unlikely to make it past the first frost. Then there's the flowering tree, standing apart, with its roots deeply anchored in the ground--this one endures every weather, delivering the soulful beauty and reassurance of the survivor. That's Marlena Shaw.Shaw sings with the ease of absolute mastery, and each feeling she expresses rings true: she's been there, ...

176
Album Review

Marlena Shaw: Live in Tokyo

Read "Live in Tokyo" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger


The very young 441 Records has a great plan: bringing Sony and JVC Japanese releases to wider audiences... and this one is a corker. But then, so is Marlena Shaw, a fascinating performer who takes absolute (yet warm and friendly) command of every audience lucky enough to see her. This live CD, recorded at the B-flat club in Tokyo in 2002, conveys much of the excitement, but necessarily misses a few crucial aspects: her elementally expressive face and body, her ...

95
Album Review

Marlena Shaw: Elemental Soul

Read "Elemental Soul" reviewed by AAJ Staff


After favoring soul and disco in the 1970s and early '80s, Marlena Shaw has made jazz her #1 priority in the 1990s. The big-voiced, Carmen McRae-influenced singer did some impressive things in R&B (including the humorous “Go Away, Little Boy"), but Elemental Soul reminds us that it's certainly great to have her back on the jazz tip. Shaw (who is joined by tenor hero Stanley Turrentine on three tunes) shows just how persuasive an improviser she can be on everything ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Marlena Shaw, Four in One, Cornet Chop Suey, Oikos Ensemble, and More

Jazz This Week: Marlena Shaw, Four in One, Cornet Chop Suey, Oikos Ensemble, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

It's finally spring in St. Louis, and it's Jazz Appreciation Month all over the world, so it's a good week to get out and hear some live jazz and creative music. Here's a look at what's going on around town over the next few days... Tonight, singer Marlena Shaw (pictured) returns to Jazz at the Bistro for the first evening of a four-night engagement. Known for signature songs such as “Go Away Little Boy" and “California Soul," Shaw performed in ...

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Music Industry

Jazz at the Bistro: Marlena Shaw Postponed, Russell Malone and Cyrus Chestnut Added

Jazz at the Bistro: Marlena Shaw Postponed, Russell Malone and Cyrus Chestnut Added

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This just in: Jazz St. Louis has announced that due to “circumstances beyond their control," singer Marlena Shaw's upcoming engagement at Jazz at the Bistro, scheduled for Wednesday, April 11 through Saturday, April 14, has been postponed. JSL director of operations and artistic administration Bob Bennett says they're working with Shaw's representatives to reschedule for next season. Shaw's place on the calendar will be taken by guitarist Russell Malone (pictured) and pianist Cyrus Chestnut's trio. Both have played the Bistro ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Marlena Shaw, Will Matthews, Glendale Jazz Festival, and More

Jazz This Week: Marlena Shaw, Will Matthews, Glendale Jazz Festival, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

If you'd like to hear some jazz as part of your Memorial Day weekend, there are a number of noteworthy shows coming up over the next few days in and around St. Louis. Let's go to the highlights:The week's best-known headliner is singer Marlena Shaw (pictured), who's in town to perform tonight through Saturday at Jazz at the Bistro. Shaw's music encompasses jazz, soul, R&B, gospel, pop and many other influences; for more on her, and some performance ...

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Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Marlena Shaw

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Marlena Shaw

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look at some clips featuring singer Marlena Shaw, who will be in St. Louis from Wednesday, May 26 through Saturday, May 29 to perform at Jazz at the Bistro. Shaw first came to wide public attention in the mid-1960s, when she cut her first album for the Cadet label. She's recorded a wide range of material over the years, encompassing everything from jazz, R&B and ...

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