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Carmen McRae (1920-1994), "The Singer's Singer" From Harlem, and One of The Most Influential Jazz Vocalists of the Twentieth Century


The Hersch

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Thanks for your terrific series of various jazz/bluesy female singers.  I've probably not listened to any of these wondrous voices in 25 years, but there was a time when I regularly visited jazz and blues clubs and searched out sultry female voices cooing to me and my g/f of the time.  Wonderful memories:  I never saw any of the memorable performers you've referenced live.  My loss.

I'm just listening to Carmen McRae singing "The Very Thought of You":

followed by Sarah Vaughan crooning the same song:

But where are the dim lights, the smokey scotch and soda and my g/f's hand????

So damn sexy,sultry, hip and cool.  Such great experiences.

I do recall being part of a "couples club" of 6 at some lower East Side club where we sat at the table  immediately adjacent to the stage.  The performers were blowing dope on stage with the tell tale smells wafting through the air.

A week later there was a shooting at the club and it closed.  Relieved I had been there the week before.

Thanks for the memories.

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Thanks for your terrific series of various jazz/bluesy female singers.  I've probably not listened to any of these wondrous voices in 25 years, but there was a time when I regularly visited jazz and blues clubs and searched out sultry female voices cooing to me and my g/f of the time.  Wonderful memories:  I never saw any of the memorable performers you've referenced live.  My loss.

I'm just listening to Carmen McRae singing The Very Thought of You  followed by Sarah Vaughan crooning the same song   But where are the dim lights, the smokey scotch and soda and my g/f's hand????

Thanks for the kind words, and where are the snows of yesteryear?

Back in 1994, and my God it doesn't seem like more than twenty years ago, the brilliant R&B singer Etta James departed from her usual kind of material to put out a deeply beautiful set of jazz-inflected recordings on an album called "Mystery Lady." Here she sings "The Very Thought of You":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2lRxfGOwzE

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