CABARET
NEWS
CHICAGO - MIDWEST
AUDREY MORRIS PAYS TRIBUTE TO CARMEN MCRAE
Audrey Morris, Chicago's Queen of Cabaret and Maxim's' artist-in-residence,
will celebrate the music and life of legendary jazz singer Carmen McRae
on Wednesday, November 7th at 7:00 pm at MAXIM'S at The Nancy Goldberg
International Center (24 East Goethe Street, Chicago, IL - Tickets:
312-744-1423 - http://www.maximschicago.org/
). The program will also feature Ava Logan and Sharon Clark.
This program is presented by the Chicago Department
of Cultural Affairs as part of the Play on Cabaret series commemorating
the Great American Songbook. Miss Morris will share stories of her
friendship with McRae and their experiences performing in Chicago
clubs such as Mr. Kelly's, and will perform many of McRae's signature
songs, such as "'Round Midnight," "Guess Who I Saw Today," "November
Girl," "Traveling Light," and "God Bless the Child."
Carmen McRae's career spanned more than five decades,
beginning in the late 1930s as a songwriter, working as a vocalist
for orchestras such as Benny Carter's, Count Basie's and Earl Hines'
in the 1940s, and continuing to perform and record into the early
'90s. She was known for her distinctive behind-the-beat phrasing,
impeccable vocal control, an amazing ability to scat, and her witty,
and sometimes acerbic way of conveying lyrics.
In 1939, Holiday recorded "Dream of Life," the first
song that McRae wrote, and McRae considered Holiday one of her musical
mentors. In her later years, McRae said, "If Billie Holiday hadn't
existed, I probably wouldn't have, either."
McRae participated in Dave Brubeck's jazz operetta,
The Real Ambassadors - a protest against war and in support of civil
rights - with other performers such as Louis Armstrong. In 1987, she
recorded critically-acclaimed live album of duets with avant-garde
jazz singer Betty Carter, as well as Fine and Mellow, Live at Birdland
West. One of her final recordings was Carmen Sings Monk.
Audrey Morris, a self-described "saloon singer," sings
love songs and caresses the blues with lyrical grace that leaves her
many fans begging for more. She has been enchanting night club audiences
for more than a half century, performing in such clubs as Mister Kelly's,
the Embers, Yvette, as well as Maxim's.
Ava Logan is an award winning singer-actress from Washington,
D.C., who now lives in the Chicago area. A graduate of Yale and the
University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Logan is a veterinarian by day, and
a jazz singer at night. The classically trained vocalist has performed
jazz, pop, and rhythm and blues in Chicagoland and other U.S. cities.
Sharon Clark began singing in church at the age of six
and started singing jazz and blues professionally in the early 1970s
as a background singer. Later she joined the St. Louis Kings of Rhythm
with saxophonist Oliver Sain. She has performed with Herbie Hancock,
Ike and Tina Turner, The Dells and many others, on stages in some
of Chicago's most popular clubs and around the world.
Tickets cost $25 and include refreshments compliments
of the Whitehall Hotel.
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