Results for "Vocalist"

Judy Garland

Born: June 10, 1922

Slim Gaillard

Born: January 1, 1916

Slim Gaillard was a jazz Renaissance man who doubled as its court jester. He played, to one degree or another, nearly all of the most common instruments of jazz, including guitar, piano, organ, drums, vibraphone, and various saxophones; he also composed music and tap- danced. It is for his humor that he is most widely remembered and loved. It is immortalized in masterpieces such as "Flat Foot Floogie," "Yproc Heresy," "Chicken Rhythm," "Serenade To A Poodle," and "Laughin' in Rhythm," all of which are saturated with a dadaist sense of absurdity

Nnenna Freelon

Born: July 28, 1954

Nnenna Freelon is a nine-time GRAMMY-nominated jazz vocalist, an arts education advocate, producer, arranger, and Award-winning Podcaster (entitled Greatgrief with Nnenna Freelon) who has achieved great heights in recording and live performance.  

Having faced many losses in the past few years, Nnenna has felt the need to find her "voice" once more. through the lens of grief and loss.  Her new album "Beneath The Skin" is a reflection of this new territory. It’s an intimate expression of her love for her family, her late husband Phil, and a universal love letter to all who’ve lost someone dear. Her PBS-NC Special as part of the series Shaped By Sound celebrates the release!  Her debut as author happens in Fall 2025 with Beneath The Skin of Sorrow (Duke University Press).

Michael Franks

Born: September 18, 1944

Over the languorous course of 33 years and 16 albums, Michael Franks has mesmerized an international legion of fans with his one-of-a-kind artistry. Seamlessly weaving lyrics of stunning sensuality, wit, reflection and literary eloquence over music that tastefully utilizes top shelf shadings of jazz, soul, pop, chamber and music from around the globe, Michael Franks the songwriter has set a bar in the music world that places him as nothing less than a statesman of song craft. His best known works include “Popsicle Toes,” “Monkey See-Monkey Do,” “The Lady Wants To Know,” “When the Cookie Jar is Empty,” “Tiger in the Rain,” “Rainy Night in Tokyo” and “Tell Me All About It” (covered by artists ranging from Diana Krall and Natalie Cole to Manhattan Transfer and the Carpenters)

Connye Florance

Black Entertainment Television's "Jazz Vocalist of the Year" in 2000, following her 1999 independent release, , Turn My Heart which won a Nashville Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Her music has gained international attention from jazz fans and adult contemporary listeners alike. Connye's dynamic delivery and creamy-rich style have delighted countless audiences - from nightclub and theater performances on and off Broadway - to headline and featured appearances at area jazz festivals and venues;alongside such notables as Steinway artist Beegie Adair, master trumpet player Randy Brecker; saxophonist Kirk Whalum; with Nashville Jazz Orchestra, and her own stellar ensemble of musicians

Eddie Fisher

Born: August 10, 1928

American singer and entertainer, who was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and having his own TV show.

Young crooner, protege of Eddie Cantor; got first wide exposure as frequent guest performer on Cantor's early-50's TV broadcasts. Later responsible for million-selling records during the 50's, including "Any Time" (his signature song), "O My Papa!" and many others. He was married to Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor, and Connie Stevens. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered scandalously unwelcome publicity at the time. Fisher was crooning with the bands of Buddy Morrow and Charlie Ventura in 1946 and was heard in 1949 by Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's Resort in the Borscht Belt

Ella Fitzgerald

Born: April 25, 1917

Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. (Or rather, some might say all the jazz greats had the pleasure of working with Ella.) She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt

Rachelle Ferrell

Rachelle Ferrell is unquestionably one of the most dynamic talents in contemporary pop music. Very few vocal artists in the industry have Ferrell’s potent combination of range, phrasing, and musicianship. Ferrell first emerged in the states with her R&B debut Rachelle Ferrell (1992), a solid collection of self-penned originals that featured a striking duet with Will Downing (‘Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This’). It was with the release of First Instrument in 1994 (recorded prior to Rachelle Ferrell) that audiences were really introduced to Ferrell’s jazz sensibilities

Deitra Farr

Born: August 1, 1957

Deitra Farr - Blues Singer Deitra Farr is considered one of Chicago’s top vocalists, fiery, energetic, and soul-stirring describes this woman, who has over the years been nominated for Traditional Female Blues artist of the year by the W.C. Handy Awards, Female Blues Artist of the year by the Living Blues Critics Awards, the British Blues Connection Awards, and the Les Trophees France Blues awards. This Chicago native began her career in 1975, singing with local soul bands, before starting her blues career in the early 1980’s. She was the featured vocalist with the Jimmy Mayes band Mill Street Depot, and then with blues pianist Erwin Helfer’s trio. While acquiring a reputation in the Windy City blues circles she surrounded herself with top tier musicians and the efforts paid off

Connie Evingson

Minnesota born-and-raised, Connie Evingson has a catalog of acclaimed albums that run a wide spectrum of genres. From jazz to Broadway standards, to covering Peggy Lee or The Beatles, the Twin Cities-based singer has an adventurous spirit that, like her music, knows no boundaries. Her ten albums released through Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the United States and Canada, and can be heard on radio stations around the globe. Evingson has toured worldwide, with appearances at concert halls, theaters and festivals in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Memorable performances include being a guest artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Michael Feinstein, and Vince Giordano; multiple performances on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion; collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra and Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinsen; performances with the JazzMN Orchestra and Vocalessence, and a standing invitation at the renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis