[78-L] fwd: Chris Connor obit

[David Lennick]

LEGENDARY JAZZ SINGER CHRIS CONNOR DEAD AT 81


Legendary jazz vocalist Chris Connor, who first came to prominence with the 
orchestras of Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton and went on to record dozens of 
successful albums and singles, died on Saturday evening, August 29 at the 
Community Medical Center in Toms River, NJ following a long bout with cancer, 
according to her publicist Alan Eichler.  She was 81.  Among her many hits were 
"All About Ronnie," "Trust in Me" and "I Miss You So."  Nearly her entire 
recorded legacy has been reissued on CD, including such classic albums as "The 
George Gershwin Almanac of Song," "Witchcraft" and "Lullabys of Birdland."

Chris Connor was among the most popular '50s vocalists, famous for altering 
rhythms on ballads, using little vibrato except on special occasions, and a 
husky, lush sound and she continued to record and perform successfully 
throughout the world for the next 50 years.

Born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, MO on Nov. 8, 1927, Connor studied 
clarinet for eight years as a child, then began singing in her late teens. She 
was the vocalist with a large band at the University of Missouri led by Bob 
Brookmeyer modeled after the Kenton band. After working with a group in Kansas 
City, Connor moved to New York in 1949. She sang with Claude Thornhill, Herbie 
Fields and Thornhill again in the early '50s, performing with Thornhill's vocal 
group the Snowflakes.

An admirer of Kenton singers Anita O'Day and June Christy, Connor recalled, "I 
had my sights set on singing with Kenton."  While appearing with Jerry Wald's 
band, she got her wish, receiving a phone call to join Kenton in 1952, with 
whom she recorded her biggest hit, "All About Ronnie."  Connor went solo in 
1953 and signed with Bethlehem Records for two years. She then moved to 
Atlantic, and enjoyed worldwide success as one of their biggest album sellers, 
having  two chart singles in the late '50s. They were the songs "Trust In Me" 
and the title cut from the album "I Miss You So." Connor switched to Roulette 
and ABC-Paramount and was highly praised for her 1966 appearance at the Austin 
Jazz Festival. Following a period of semi-retirement, Connor made a comeback in 
the mid-70's, cutting albums with Kenton and Maynard Ferguson. She continued 
recording into the '80's, 90's and 2000' for such labels as Progressive, 
Contemporary, High Note and Enja, and touring throughout the world, including 
Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and top 
venues in Japan, where she was hugely popular.  Her last appearance was at the 
Iridium jazz club in New York City in 2004 in a split engagement with her idol 
Anita O'Day.

She is survived by a nephew and her longtime companion and manager Lori 
Muscarelle.  Services will be private.  Further details at 
http://www.chrisconnorjazz.com/
Chris Connor won every conceivable critical and popular accolade in her half 
century reign as one of the most gifted and distinctive vocalists in jazz 
history. To the delight of fans and fellow musicians, her singing has never 
been more satisfying. Her warm, cello-like tones glow with new luster, and her 
interpretation of lyrics is more deeply felt than ever before. Connor's concert 
appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, an appearance at the 
Essence of Jazz Festival in Memphis, and her appearance as part of the star 
studded JVC tribute concert to Miss Peggy Lee, as well as jazz club engagements 
at such venues as Birdland and Iridium, have revealed an artist at the peak of 
her creative powers.

Born in 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri, Connor studied clarinet, but her career 
direction was clear at an early age. "I always knew I wanted to be a singer," 
she said, "I never wanted to be anything else." After completing her schooling, 
she took a secretarial job while commuting on weekends to the University of 
Missouri to perform with a Stan Kenton-influenced college jazz band. An admirer 
of Kenton singers Anita O'Day and June Christy, Connor recalls, "I had my 
sights set on singing with Kenton."

Frustrated by the lack of vocal musical opportunities in her hometown, Connor 
pulled up stakes and headed east in 1949. She was hired by Claude Thornhill and 
spent the next five years touring with his orchestra. Then, while appearing 
with Jerry Wald's band, she received the phone call she had been dreaming of. 
June Christy, Stan Kenton's current vocalist, had heard Connor on a radio 
broadcast and recommended her to the orchestra leader, who chose her from 
dozens of other vocalists eager for the job. "My voice seemed to fit the band," 
Connor said, "with that low register like Anita's and June's.

Connor's ten-month stint with Kenton during 1952-53 won her national 
recognition. Her haunting recording of Joe Greene's ballad "All About Ronnie" 
announced the arrival of a fresh new artist. But the years of one-night stands, 
fast food and interminable bus rides soured Connor's enthusiasm for life on the 
road. "By that time, I'd endured about six years of one-nighters and I'd just 
about had it." To this day she values the musical training she received with 
Kenton, especially the skills relating to time, phrasing and "how to come in on 
exactly the right note while 18 or 20 musicians are playing their parts."

Determined to forge a career as a solo artist, Connor returned to New York and 
signed with Bethlehem Records in 1953. Her three albums for that independent 
label, featuring Ellis Larkins, Herbie Mann, Kai Winding and J.J.Johnson, 
established her as a major jazz voice. In 1956, she began a six-year 
association with Atlantic Records that produced a string of chart-topping 
recordings arranged by Ralph Burns, Al Cohn, Jimmy Jones and Ralph Sharon, 
showcasing a host of jazz legends - John Lewis, Oscar Pettiford, Lucky 
Thompson, Phil Woods, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson 
and, in a particularly memorable pairing, Maynard Ferguson's big band.

The rock youthquake of the late '60s and '70s derailed the careers of many jazz 
artists, but Connor persisted, performing in clubs, touring Japan and recording 
for a variety of labels. The early '80s resurgence of interest in jazz singing 
revitalized her career, leading to a brace of highly-acclaimed Contemporary 
CDs. In the '90s she began to record for the Japanese label Alfa. Connor 
recorded two CDs with jazz pianist Hank Jones and his trio, "Angel Eyes" and 
"As Time Goes By." She then recorded two additional CDs with her own quintet, 
"My Funny Valentine," arranged by Richard Rodney Bennett, and "Blue Moon," a 
collection of movie songs, arranged by Michael Abene.

The new Millennium brought the timeless singer into yet another recording 
agreement, signing with the New York based High Note Records in 2000. Her first 
release, "Haunted Heart," also arranged by Michael Abene, was released 
September 2001, and a second CD "I Walk With Music," was released in 2002, also 
with Michael Abene arranging and producing.

Chris then returned to another Japanese label and recorded "Lullaby Of 
Birdland" for King Record Co.Ltd, with pianist/arranger David Matthews. It was 
released in September 2003.

Of her current singing, Connor said, "I haven't changed my approach, although 
my voice has become deeper and softer, and I don't experiment as much. When 
you're young, you overplay as a musician and you over-sing as a singer because 
you're trying all these ideas, and I was throwing in everything but the kitchen 
sink. I've eliminated a lot of things I used to do. The simpler it is, the 
better it works for me." She remains, as critic Larry Kart proclaimed in the 
Chicago Tribune, "a dominating vocal presence whose music is full of 
hard-earned wisdom and truth."

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