A cantora de jazz Chris Connor, nasceu em Kansas City no 8 de Novembro de 1927 e ficou conhecida mundialmente por seu estilo distinto e pelo timbre característico de sua voz. Seu pai era um eminente músico, por essa razão Connor começou a estudar música bem cedo, conseguindo proficiência em clarineta.
No início de sua carreira, Connor se juntou ao "Snowflakes", um grupo vocal da banda de Claude Thornehill, posteriormente ela abandonou o grupo para se tornar a cantora principal da banda de Stan kenton.
Originalmente, ela gravou pela Bethlehem Records, assinando depois com a Atlantic Records, onde gravou por um longo período. Suas gravações mais conhecidas são famosas entre os que estão familiarizados com o jazz dos anos 1950 e 1960; entre as mais populares estão "Lullaby of Birdland", "All about Ronnie."Trust in Me" e "I Miss you So". Quase a totalidade de sua discografia foi reeditada em CD, incluindo os albuns clássicos "The George Gershwin Almanac of Song", " Witchcraft" e "Lullaby of Birdland".
Chris Connor faleceu em Agosto deste ano com 81 anos de idade em Toms River,Nova Jersey.
Chris Connor has won every conceivable critical and popular accolade in her half century reign as one of the most gifted and distinctive vocalists in jazz history. To the delight of fans and fellow musicians, her singing has never been more satisfying. Her warm, cello-like tones glow with new luster, and her interpretation of lyrics is more deeply felt than ever before. Connor’s concert appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, an appearance at the Essence of Jazz Festival in Memphis, and her appearance as part of the star studded JVC tribute concert to Miss Peggy Lee, as well as jazz club engagements at such venues as Birdland and Iridium, have revealed an artist at the peak of her creative powers.
Born in 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri, Connor studied clarinet, but her career direction was clear at an early age. “I always knew I wanted to be a singer,” she said, “I never wanted to be anything else.” After completing her schooling, she took a secretarial job while commuting on weekends to the University of Missouri to perform with a Stan Kenton-influenced college jazz band. An admirer of Kenton singers Anita O’Day and June Christy, Connor recalls, “I had my sights set on singing with Kenton.”
Frustrated by the lack of vocal musical opportunities in her hometown, Connor pulled up stakes and headed east in 1949. She was hired by Claude Thornhill and spent the next five years touring with his orchestra. Then, while appearing with Jerry Wald’s band, she received the phone call she had been dreaming of. June Christy, Stan Kenton’s current vocalist, had heard Connor on a radio broadcast and recommended her to the orchestra leader, who chose her from dozens of other vocalists eager for the job. “My voice seemed to fit the band,” Connor said, “with that low register like Anita’s and June’s.
Chris sings "Lullabys of Birdland"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkiVkinGx8U
Fonte - Wikipédia
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