Jazz Singers

One of the finest singers in jazz history, Carmen McRae had a sardonic style, behind-the-beat phrasing and could improvise and swing at any tempo.

A trained pianist, McRae sang with Benny Carter's orchestra in 1944 and then spent much of the next decade working as an intermission pianist and singer in New York clubs. In 1954 she was discovered and began recording as a leader. Though influenced by bebop, swing and Billie Holiday, McRae had her own sound from the start. Among her most interesting projects through the years were singing with Louis Armstrong in Dave Brubeck's short-lived show The Real Ambassadors, recording a duet album with Betty Carter, having Brubeck and George Shearing as her accompanists on records and recording full-length tributes at the end of her career to Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan.

The Great American Songbook, recorded in 1972 at the legendary Los Angeles jazz club Dante's, finds Carmen McRae inspired by her backup quartet (pianist Jimmy Rowles, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Chuck Domanico and drummer Chuck Flores). McRae is witty, joyful and inspired throughout the set. Her debut of a humorous Rowles novelty called "The Ballad of Thelonious Monk" (about a country music fan who finds that he loves Monk's music) became famous. Other highlights include her versions of "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Sunday," "I Cried for You" and "I Thought About You."

This essential set is one of Carmen McRae's finest recordings.

—Scott Yanow