Carla White
Carla Ruth White (born September 15, 1951 in Oakland , California , † May 9, 2007 in New York City ) was an American jazz singer . Sometimes she was celebrated as the queen of scat singing .
Live and act
White grew up in a musical family in Bellport, New York (her father played the trumpet). Her parents supported her musically at an early age. Even while she was in high school, she performed as an actress and singer. In New York City she started jazz dance to study and attended from 1969 to 1971, the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London . After her return from Europe, she took private tuition from Lennie Tristano for four years and then took lessons from Warne Marsh (1978–1981) and Don Sebesky (1987).
From the late 1970s she began to work with the trumpeter Manny Duran ; the two recorded with a band that they led until 1985 for Stash Records ( Andruline , 1983). She then led her own trio and recorded albums under her name for Milestone , Evidence and DIW Records . From the mid-1980s she was recognized as a remarkable talent in the specialist magazines. She appeared increasingly in the big jazz clubs of New York and even in Carnegie Hall and presented herself at various festivals in North America and Trinidad and toured Mexico, Japan and Europe, where she found recognition especially in Scandinavia.
On the critically acclaimed DIW album The Sweetest Sounds , Carla White was accompanied on the tenor saxophone by pianist Peter Madsen , bassist Dean Johnson , percussionist Steve Berrios and on some pieces by Lew Tabackin . On her last album, which was created in September 2001, the singer worked with John Hart , Dean Johnson, Matt Wilson and guest Claudio Roditi . After developing cancer, she died in New York City in May 2007.
Discographic notes
- Orient Express (Milestone, 1985)
- Mood Swings (Milestone, 1988) with Joshua Breakstone , Lew Tabakin
- Listen Here (Evidence, 1991)
- Live at Vartan Jazz (Vartan, 1996) with Harvie Swartz , Joe LaBarbera
- The Sweetest Sounds (DIW, 1996, ed. 2000)
- A Voice in the Night (Bright Moon, 2001, ed. 2006)
Lexicon entry
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Marcus Woelfle Obituary , Jazzzeitung 3/2007
Web links
- The singer's website
- Carla White at Allmusic (English)
- obituary
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | White, Carla |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | White, Carla Ruth (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 15, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oakland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 9, 2007 |
| Place of death | New York City |