Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an
Ella Fitzgerald or
Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with
Benny Carter's big band (1944) but it would be another decade before her career really had much momentum.
McRae married and divorced
Kenny Clarke in the 1940s, worked with
Count Basie (briefly) and Mercer Ellington (1946-47), and became the intermission singer and pianist at several New York clubs.
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In 1954 she began to record as a leader and by then she had absorbed the influences of
Billie Holiday and bebop into her own style.
McRae would record pretty steadily up to 1989 and, although her voice was higher in the 1950s and her phrasing would be even more laidback in later years, her general style and approach did not change much through the decades. Championed in the 1950s by Ralph Gleason,
Carmen McRae was fairly popular throughout her career. Among her most interesting recording projects were participating in
Dave Brubeck's the Real Ambassadors with
Louis Armstrong, cutting an album of live duets with
Betty Carter, being accompanied by
Dave Brubeck and
George Shearing, and closing her career with brilliant tributes to
Thelonious Monk and
Sarah Vaughan.
Carmen McRae, who refused to quit smoking, was forced to retire in 1991 due to emphysema. She recorded for many labels including Bethlehem, Decca (1954-58), Kapp, Columbia, Mainstream, Focus, Atlantic (1967-70), Black Lion, Groove Merchant, Catalyst, Blue Note, Buddah, Concord and Novus. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
