Peggy Lee's alluring tone, distinctive delivery, breadth of material, and ability to write many of her own songs made her one of the most captivating artists of the vocal era, from her breakthrough on the Benny Goodman hit "Why Don't You Do Right" to her many solo successes, singles including "Mañana," "Lover" and "Fever" that showed her... [+] Read More

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California native, Alizabeth Jackson moved to Maryland in 2001 to study opera with Dr. William Beall (Peabody Conservatory of Music). She transitioned into jazz and contemporary music two years later and began writing, recording and performing in local venues. Alizabeth owned a studio in Easton, MD where she did a portion of her recording, often... [+] Read More

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What started as a suspender-clad celebration of suds ended in a nearly forgotten shamble of ruined relationships, destroyed plush toys and a few hundred empty beer bottles.

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Arguably the most adventurous female jazz singer of all time, Betty Carter was an idiosyncratic stylist and a restless improviser who pushed the limits of melody and harmony as much as any bebop horn player. The husky-voiced Carter was capable of radical, off-the-cuff reworkings of whatever she sang, abruptly changing tempos and dynamics, or... [+] Read More

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A singer who performed with Duke Ellington in both the '40s and '50s, Betty Roché was famous for her strong, dramatic way of putting across blues material, a talent that not every vocalist with this big band had. Ellington, who was sometimes prone to hire vocalists with stilted, nearly classical delivery, described Roché with typical grace: "She... [+] Read More

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The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever. Almost fifty years after her death, it's difficult to believe that prior to her emergence, jazz and pop singers were tied to the Tin Pan Alley tradition and rarely personalized their... [+] Read More

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Billy Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular music. An influence looming large in the cultural development of soul and R&B singers from Sam Cooke to Prince, Eckstine was able to play it straight on... [+] Read More

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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... [+] Read More

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Dakota Staton gained a strong reputation as a soulful jazz singer early in her career, and, although she has never broken through to become a truly major name, she has retained her popularity for several decades. Staton studied voice at the Filion School of Music in Pittsburgh. Her performance at a jam session in Harlem led to her signing with... [+] Read More

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Frank Sinatra was arguably the most important popular music figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. In a professional career that lasted 60 years, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain his appeal and pursue his musical goals despite often countervailing trends.... [+] Read More

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Nigerian-born jazzfusion singer.

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Joe Williams was the last great big-band singer, a smooth baritone who graced the rejuvenated Count Basie Orchestra during the 1950s and captivated audiences well into the '90s. Born in Georgia, he moved to Chicago with his grandmother at the age of three. Reunited with his mother, she taught him to play the piano and took him to the symphony.... [+] Read More

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Singer/actress Lena Horne's primary occupation was nightclub entertaining, a profession she pursued successfully around the world for more than 60 years, from the 1930s to the 1990s. In conjunction with her club work, she also maintained a recording career that stretched from 1936 to 2000 and brought her three Grammys, including a Lifetime... [+] Read More

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Mel Tormé was a jazz-oriented pop singer who worked at his craft steadily from the 1940s to the 1990s, primarily in nightclubs and concert halls. In his 1988 autobiography, It Wasn't All Velvet (its title a reference to his nickname, "The Velvet Fog," bestowed upon him by a disc jockey in the 1940s to describe his husky, wide-ranging voice), he... [+] Read More

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TSu-YAN was born for the Heart in this world.
I made MUSIC BOY born.
The purpose is to express the voice of the heart by using the word and the sound.
I put extraordinary energy in an individual word and the sound and am creating music.
And, it performs music by extraordinary energy. The base of my music is hard rock and... [+] Read More

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Tony Bennett's career has enjoyed three distinct phases, each of them very successful. In the early '50s, he scored a series of major hits that made him one of the most popular recording artists of the time. In the early '60s, he mounted a comeback as more of an adult-album seller. And from the mid-'80s on, he achieved renewed popularity with... [+] Read More

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