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3 unusual facts about Carmen McRae


Brooklyn Jazz Hall of Fame and Museum

Members of the Brooklyn Jazz Hall of Fame include: Hubie Blake, Cal Massey, C. Scoby Stroman, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Joe Carroll, Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, Noel Pointer, Betty Roché, Art Blakey, Kenny Durham, Hazel Scott, Mary Lou Williams, Roland Alexander, Cecil Payne and Max Roach.

Carmen McRae

McRae also recorded with some of the world's best jazz musicians in albums such as Take Five Live (1961) with Dave Brubeck, Two for the Road (1980) with George Shearing, and Heat Wave (1982) with Cal Tjader.

As a result of her early friendship with Billie Holiday, she never performed without singing at least one song associated with "Lady Day", and she recorded an album in 1983 in her honor entitled For Lady Day, which was released in 1995, with songs including "Good Morning Heartache", "Them There Eyes", "Lover Man", "God Bless the Child" and "Don't Explain".


Aaron Bell

In the 1950s, Bell appeared on Billie Holiday's album Lady Sings the Blues and with Lester Young, Stan Kenton, Johnny Hodges, Cab Calloway, Carmen McRae, and Dick Haymes.

Nick Stabulas

He did extensive work as a sideman in the 1950s, with Jon Eardley (1955–56), Jimmy Raney (1955–57), Eddie Costa (1956), Friedrich Gulda (1956), George Wallington (1956–57), Al Cohn (1956–57, 1960), Zoot Sims (1957), Gil Evans (1957), Mose Allison (1957–58), Carmen McRae (1958), and Don Elliott (1958).

Night Has a Thousand Eyes

The film's main theme (written by Jerry Brainin and Buddy Bernier) has gone on to become a jazz standard, having been recorded by Horace Silver, Carmen McRae, Paul Desmond and John Coltrane, among others.

Shirley Horn

Horn collaborated with many jazz greats including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and others.

Vocal jazz

Vocal jazz, since 1970, has been led by several big names, including Mark Murphy, Maxine Sullivan, Sarah Vaughan, Al Jarreau, Carmen McRae, Flora Purim, George Benson, Carol Sloane, Urszula Dudziak, Bobby McFerrin, among many others.


see also

Lance Hayward

As his career developed as a jazz pianist, as well as an arranger, Hayward became the most sought-after pianist on the island, called to play for visiting singers including Carmen McRae, Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Arthur Prysock and Marvin Gaye.