Marion Cowings

Marion Lincoln Cowings (born January 24, 1946 in New York ) is an American jazz singer and university professor.

Live and act

Cowings grew up in the southern Bronx , began as a pianist and attended the High School of Music and Arts and the Manhattan School of Music . At the invitation of Jon Hendricks , to whom he was referred by Cowing's school friend Eddie Gomez , he performed with Lambert , Hendricks and Ross at the age of 15 . He made another appearance in 1959 as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein in Aaron Copland's Second Hurricane .

In 1960 he appeared in the band of Pony Poindexter and Ike Isaacs at the Randall's Island Jazz Festival. In the 1960s he continued to work with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and in his own rock and R&B groups in the 1970s. Together with his future wife Kim Kalesti he had a band in the 1980s with which he also worked in Europe a. a. performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival ; in addition, two albums appeared on the Emarcy label. Jazz musicians such as Frank Foster , Walter Davis Jr. , Bobby Watson , Al Foster , Eddie Gomez, Gary Bartz , Al Gray , Ralph LaLama , Al Gray, Slide Hampton , Major Holley , Hank Jones and Winard Harper acted as sidemen .

From 1996 Cowings began a solo career with appearances in New York's Blue Note , in which he was accompanied by Kenny Barron. He also worked on various theater productions, such as "Queenie Pie," a Duke Ellington opera performed by Mercer Ellington at Lincoln Center . Cowings also performed at Count Basie and Glenn Miller's centenary celebrations . He also worked on numerous jingles for which he was awarded the Clio Award .

Cowings has been an assistant professor of jazz singing at New York University since 1987 ; he has also taught at City College , the Jazzmobile, and the New School .

Cowing's daughter is the R&B singer Emily King (* 1985).

literature

• Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .

Web links

• Marion Cowings at Discogs (English)
• Concert review in the New York Times, 1983