Beegie Adair

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Beegie Adair (born  December 11, 1937 as Bobbe Gorin Long in Barren County , Kentucky ; † January 23, 2022 in Franklin , Tennessee ) was an American jazz pianist .

life and work

Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green

Beegie Adair grew up in Cave City, Kentucky. Her father was AG Long and her mother's first name was also Bobbe. At the age of five she began taking piano lessons. She attended Caverna High School in Horse Cave, Kentucky until 1954. She then studied piano and earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green , Kentucky in 1958. During her studies she played in various jazz bands . After graduating, she gave music lessons for children for three years.

In the early 1960s Adair moved to Nashville , where she worked as a session musician . She became a sought -after studio musician , accompanying well-known artists such as Johnny Cash , Chet Atkins , Dolly Parton , Lucille Ball , Steve Allen , Dinah Shore , Cass Elliot and Peggy Lee . She has also served as resident pianist on The Johnny Cash Show on ABC-TV and other television formats . She later founded a company with her husband William "Billy" Adair to write music for commercials.

Joe Williams

In 1982, Adair formed the Adair Solee Quartet with saxophonist Denis Solee, which grew into the jazz sextet Be-Bop Co-Op . In the late 1980s she hosted a radio talk music show entitled Beegie Improvised Thoughts , featuring local and international jazz artists including Tony Bennett , Joe Williams , Marian McPartland , Benny Golson and Helen Merrill . She has twice been a guest on the well-known radio show Piano Jazz and has performed with Nat Adderley , Bill Watrous , Lew Tabackin , Terry Clarke and Urbie Green , among others .

In 1991, she released her first music album , Escape to New York , under her own name . The rhythm section consisted of Bob Cranshaw and Gregory Hutchinson . She then formed the Beegie Adair Trio , which included double bass player Roger Spencer and percussionist Chris Brown, with whom she worked until the end of her life. In 1998 she received the Nashville Music Award for Jazz Album of the Year. She received this honor for her album The Frank Sinatra Collection , released in 1997 .

Carnegie Hall in New York

Beegie Adair released over 100 albums in her lifetime; 34 of them are studio recordings with her trio . The musical spectrum of their albums ranges from Cole Porter standards and Frank Sinatra classics to romantic ballads. According to Beegie Adair, her style was influenced by George Shearing , Bill Evans , Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner . With over 1.5 million albums sold, the Beegie Adair Trio is one of the most successful and respected music trios in the jazz world. In 2016, the trio performed at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan , New York City .

Beegie Adair has received numerous awards throughout her career . In 2002 she was named a Steinway Artist by Steinway & Sons . To date, this honor has been given to 1600 renowned pianists, including Lang Lang , Diana Krall , Harry Connick , Michel Legrand , Billy Joel , Irving Berlin , Cole Porter , Sergei Rachmaninoff and Arthur Rubinstein .

She was inducted into the Music Department's Wall of Fame at Western Kentucky University in 2002 and into the Cave City Hall of Fame in 2004. She has been a member of Western Kentucky University 's Hall of Distinguished Alumni since 2006. She also received the first Heritage Award from the Nashville Jazz Workshop, where she regularly taught musicians. She has also served as Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Vanderbilt University 's Blair School of Music .

In 2012, Beegie Adair was honored as a Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalist Association and was made a Kentucky Colonel by then- Governor Steve Beshear . Her hometown of Cave City established the Beegie Adair Community Center in her honor . Her donations enabled the establishment of the Beegie Adair Scholarship Fund at Western Kentucky University to advance music education.

In 2014 her husband Billy Adair, who was also an associate professor of jazz studies at Vanderbilt University until his death, passed away. Beegie Adair, most recently residing in Franklin , Tennessee , was a board member of the Nashville Jazz Workshop and performed regularly in Nashville along with her trio.

Her stage name Beegie is derived from the English pronunciation of the initials B and G of her first name.

Albums (selection)

  • 1991: Escape To New York (Consolidated Artists Productions)
  • 1997: Frank Sinatra Collection: A Musical Tribute (Green Hill)
  • 2001: Dream Dancing (Hillsboro Jazz)
  • 2002: I'll Take Romance (Hillsboro Jazz)
  • 2002: The Way You Look Tonight (Green Hill)
  • 2002: The Great American Songbook Collection (Green Hill)
  • 2003: Centennial Composers Collection (Green Hill)
  • 2003: Days Of Wine And Roses (Village Square Music)
  • 2005: An Affair To Remember (Green Hill)
  • 2006: Sentimental Journey (Village Square Music)
  • 2007: As Time Goes By (Village Square Music)
  • 2008: In A Sentimental Mood. Romantic Songs Of Duke Ellington (Green Hill)
  • 2008: Yesterday - A Solo Piano Tribute To The Music Of The Beatles (Green Hill)
  • 2009: Moments To Remember (Green Hill)
  • 2009: Winter Romance (Green Hill)
  • 2010: Swingin' With Sinatra (Green Hill)
  • 2011: My Piano Memory (Green Hill)
  • 2013: A Time For Love (Green Hill)
  • 2014: Vintage Jazz (Burton Avenue Music)
  • 2014: The Good Life: A Jazz Piano Tribute to Tony Bennett (Green Hill)
  • 2015: Too Marvelous for Words (Adair Music Group)
  • 2016: Some Enchanted Evening (Green Hill)
  • 2017: By Request (Green Hill)

Beegie Adair Trio

  • 1998: The Dinner Music Series (Green Hill)
  • 1999: Jazz Piano Christmas (Green Hill)
  • 2000: Love, Elvis (Green Hill)
  • 2005: Jazz On Broadway (Village Square Music)
  • 2012: The Real Thing (Green Hill)
  • 2013: Trav'lin' Light (Green Hill)
  • 2015: Too Marvelous for Words (Adair Music Group)

web links

itemizations

  1. ↑ Obituary. Williamson Memorial, January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022 .
personal data
SURNAME Adair, Beegie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Adair, Bobbe Gorin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz pianist
BIRTH DATE December 11, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Barren County
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 2022
PLACE OF DEATH Franklin, Tennessee