Results for "Marlena Shaw"

Marlena Shaw

Born: September 22, 1942

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.

It's Christmas Again

by Marc Cohn
December 23, 2019

So, we've got our usual group of holiday favorites. But wait! There's more. We've got a new Eight Track Christmas from guitarist Dave Stryker, a stupendous live Jazzy Christmas concert from trumpeter Paolo Fresu (and I mean truly stupendous! I've listened to the CD at least six times while putting this show together). And it's a ...

Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Project Benefit & Concert

by Walter Atkins
October 10, 2016

Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Project Benefit & Concert Hillside Club Berkeley California September 10, 2016 The sold out first annual Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Project Awards Benefit and Concert (BMJLP) was an exquisite evening that fulfilled the long held vision of Charles “Buddy" Montgomery. It recognized well deserving Bay ...

Notable and Nearly Missed 2014

by C. Michael Bailey
January 4, 2015

As I have grown older, I have come to the startling and disheartening realization that I will not be able to read all the books there are, and, more importantly, listen to all the music there is (much less write about it). I otherwise appreciate a finite lifespan, but not when it comes to books and ...

DIVA: A Swingin' Life

by Jack Bowers
November 23, 2014

As if being the premier all-female big band on the planet weren't enough, DIVA has enlisted the services of two purebred divas--Nancy Wilson and Marlena Shaw--to enrich its latest album, A Swingin' Life, recorded live at Pittsburgh's Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (November 2011) and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center (September 2012). ...

Diva: A Swingin' Life

by Richard J Salvucci
November 9, 2014

Back in 1967, Buddy Rich was one of the headliners on a summer replacement television broadcast for “The Jackie Gleason Show." If I remember correctly, the show's theme, which Rich and the band did was “Away We Go." It was subsequently released on a Pacific Jazz record The New One. Why is it that the opening ...

Diva: A Swingin' Life

by Edward Blanco
September 20, 2014

What do you get when you have fifteen talented and swinging female jazz musicians in an orchestral setting? The answer, drummer Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra offering A Swingin' Life as proof that hard-charging big band music is not the exclusivity of the male gender. Building upon the work of more than a dozen ...

Freda Payne: Come Back to Me Love

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
July 20, 2014

In 1970, the spirited R&B/pop singer Freda Payne had a monster success with “Band of Gold," a bouncy love-gone-wrong song that was probably the first top-40 hit ever written about impotence. Decades later, with undiminished pipes, beauty, and impressive energy, Payne returns to the spotlight with this big-band outing from Mack Records on its Artistry Music ...

Rebellion and Respect: Kennedy Center Celebrates Blue Note's 75th Anniversary

by Franz A. Matzner
May 29, 2014

Blue Note Record's significance to modern music is as inarguable as its story is remarkable. Over its 75 year lifespan the label has recorded many of jazz's defining artists, its evolution tracing the trajectory of America's most significant musical form from its beginnings to its present day diverse manifestations. It is therefore especially auspicious ...

Christian McBride: Knocking on the Door

by Bob Kenselaar
June 25, 2012

Christian McBride was talking about the Grammy he received in October, 2011 for his big band album, The Good Feeling (Mack Avenue, 2011)--his first Grammy as a leader and third overall. While the bassist certainly appreciated getting the nod from his peers and from the Recording Academy, he said he gets just as much of a ...