Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American soul and jazz singer from Memphis. After numerous sessions for noted jazz artists, she made her solo debut with the 1974 album Afro Blue, followed by a self-titled 1976 Atlantic release and the 1977–79 Elektra titles Just Family and Bad for Me. Background Bridgewater was born Denise Eileen Garrett […]
Kimiko Kasai — 笠井紀美子 (born Dec. 10, 1945) — is a Japanese jazz vocalist who released a clutch of live and collaborative recordings on assorted labels during the early 1970s, culminating with her solo-studio debut Umbrella, released in 1972 on Liberty. Between 1973 and 1986, she released fourteen albums on CBS/Sony. Background Kimiko Kasai was […]
Annette Peacock (born 1941) is an American avant-garde jazz vocalist and composer from Brooklyn who first emerged in the mid-1960s as a writer for pianist Paul Bley, her then-husband. His 1968 album Mr. Joy features her title-sake composition that was subsequently covered by Swedish vocalist Karin Krog and English jazz-rockers Affinity. As a performer, Peacock […]
Urszula Dudziak is a Polish jazz vocalist who first recorded in the late-1960s jazz combo Urbaniak’s Orchestra with then-husband Michał Urbaniak. In 1973, the couple migrated to the U.S. and backed each other on numerous albums over the ensuing decade. Her profile peaked with the 1975–1977 Arista releases Urszula and Midnight Rain, marked by wordless vocals, […]
Norma Winstone (born Sept. 23, 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist from London who began her recording career with three vocals on the 1969 album Hum Dono by Joe Harriott & Amancio D’Silva Quartet. In 1970, she sang on the albums Love Songs by the Mike Westbrook Concert Band and The Heart Is […]
Radka Toneff (June 25, 1952 — Oct. 21, 1982) was a Norwegian jazz vocalist who released three albums between 1977 and 1982: Winter Poem, It Don’t Come Easy, and Fairytales, the last with American pianist Steve Dobrogosz. Background Radka Toneff was born Ellen Radka Toneff in Oslo on June 25, 1952. She grew up first […]
Julie Driscoll is an English blues and jazz singer who cut two 1965 singles for Parlophone, followed by two albums in featured capacity with Brian Auger & The Trinity, which scored a 1968 UK hit with “This Wheel’s on Fire.” In 1971, she released the album 1969 on Polydor and appeared on the double-album Septober […]
Judy Roberts is an American jazz vocalist from Chicago who released three albums between 1979 and 1981 on Inner City Records. Profile Judy Roberts was born Judy Loewy on October 3, 1942, in Chicago. She began professional work at age fifteen as a pianist-vocalist. Roberts led a Chicago trio by 1970 with bassist Nick Tountas […]
Rare Silk was an American vocal-jazz group behind the 1983 Polydor release New Weave, followed by the 1985/86 albums American Eyes and Black and Blue. Members: Barbara Reeves, Gaile Gillaspie, Marguerite Juenemann, Marylynn Gillaspie, Todd Buffa Background Rare Silk formed in 1978 in Boulder, Colorado, when singer Gaile Gillaspie teamed with her sister MaryLynn Gillaspie […]
Eri Ohno (大野えり) is a Japanese jazz vocalist who released six albums between 1979 and 1983 on Better Days, followed by two mid-1980s titles on Interface and Express. Background Eri Ohno was born January 23, 1955, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. She sang from kindergarten age and developed an early interest in Western music. Ohno entered […]
Karin Krog is a Norwegian jazz singer from Oslo who made her recording debut on Metropol Jazz in 1963 and released her first album, By Myself, the following year. Her discography spans standards, free improvisation, electronic voice treatments, and duo settings, with Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, Steve Kuhn, Red Mitchell, Bengt Hallberg, and John Surman […]
Krystyna Prońko is a Polish jazz-pop/soul singer who released seven albums between 1975 and 1989 on Pronit and Wifon. Background Krystyna Prońko was born January 14, 1947, in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland. Her father encouraged her to play piano at home with her brothers, saxophonist Piotr and bassist Wojciech. She completed a first-level music school and […]
Dianne Reeves (born Oct. 23, 1956) is an American soul singer from Detroit who developed her career in Denver and Los Angeles. She emerged through work with Clark Terry, George Duke, Caldera, and Sergio Mendes, then went solo with the 1982 Palo Alto Jazz release Welcome to My Love. Reeves made 23 albums through 2026 […]
Janet Lawson (born Nov. 13, 1940) is an American jazz vocalist and quintet leader from Baltimore who made a 1981 album on Inner City, followed by the 1984 Omnisound release Dreams Can Be. Background Janet Lawson was born Janet Ann Polun on Nov. 13, 1940, in Baltimore, Md. Her father, Oscar “Jack” Polun, worked as […]
