Carmen MacRae in her heyday was as good as any singer I've ever heard. I saw her live and upclose back in the 70's. She was also a very good pianist as well as singer. She was the complete musician.
My dad was a big Carmen fan and I didn't really get it until I saw her in person in 1979 when I was about 27. EVERY song was a magical event in the most intimate story-telling!
@@Johnnycdrums you hit the nail on the head. Unless you come up in a home where its played ALL THE TIME, it can be a tricky adjustment, to your ear. I did hear it in my household, all the time..and still, my appreciation of jaz, didnt really come to fruition until I was well into my 40s. Now...its extremely hard for me to NOT listen to it on a daily basis. my Mom is a big fan of Carmen...my stepfather was too. And it was his record collection that was full of jazz & classical stuff, that made me pay attention to Ms McRae. Her voice is so singular and beautiful. And most folks just dont realize how difficult it had to be, to carve your own niche in a small group of female jazz vocalists that werent just good...but were legendary (Sarah, Ella, Nancy, Nina, Esther P, Peggy Lee,..as well as Della)..and yet, Carmen turned into one of the greatest of the great, to ever do it, in this genre of music. She's basically a music-giant. A game changer.
This is an amazing tribute to Ms. Carmen McRae, but listening to this performance just proves that Dianne Reeves is the child of Sarah Vaughan. Listen to those swooping and soaring lines in the first 2 minutes. Incredible!
wow i have this on vhs somewhere,i remember it very vividly,it was around 1992.....they showed an old b&w clip of Mother Carmen and it had this kind of dark tuba like horn on it and i've never forgotten about it after these years.....i wish i knew the song. RIP Carmen McCrae.
I can see why the tune is hard to identify ... It's "Yesterdays" by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Otto Harbach. Diane Reeves disguised it pretty well, although that was probably not her intention.
Does anybody have Carmen singing "take five"? there must be video since that piece is known all over the map.The studio original is very good but very short.
????? what is with the Krall love and Cassandra Wilson too? Nneenna Freelon, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rachelle Ferrelle, Patti Austin and Ms Reeves get ignored but there is Krall on Tavis.
she was..and to my mind, is STILL "music royalty". Not just jazz...but she set a standard in popular music. There was a time, when you listen to AM stations and on the same station you'd hear Rosemary Clooney singing pop music, right after you heard Carmen and Della singing it. But music, as it often does, CHANGED...and many of the black artists (like, Carmen, Della, Lena and Ella) who were perfectly fine singing pop music in front of the better bands of the day, were MOVED away from pop music, and wound up being relegated to jazz.. because WHITE record execs were anxiety-ridden about their more marketable WHITE ACTS not being able to hold their own if they had to share space in pop music with black singers, who quite frankly, were better singers than Clooney, Peggy Lee, the Andrew Sisters, among other white artists. So, the reason why Carmen is one of the queens of popular music, without being known as a pop music icon, is because of how she simply refined her pop chops and became one of the better jazz vocalists on Planet Earth. She is a true trailblazer. There is no Anita Baker or Dionne Warwick or Sade or Patti LaBelle, had it NOT been for women like Carmen, Dinah, Nancy Wilson, Della, Sarah or Ella. Ms McRae is THAT important to music and its history in this country.
good to see her honored. she is one people forget about and should not. so many vocalist owe her. especially for diction as Della said!
Carmen MacRae in her heyday was as good as any singer I've ever heard. I saw her live and upclose back in the 70's. She was also a very good pianist as well as singer. She was the complete musician.
And had such good humor on stage!
I remember this TV presentation and how my hairs stood up hearing Diane Reeves!
Dianne Reeves is a goddess! Wow. Hits the lows and and highs and everything in between. Breathtaking!
Santa Carmen, my main patron saint. Stay with me lady. Keep singing through the elements and filling my ears and heart. Paz
Today would have been Carmen McRae's 90th birthday. So glad she came this way. Her Birthday is April 8th 1920
My dad was a big Carmen fan and I didn't really get it until I saw her in person in 1979 when I was about 27. EVERY song was a magical event in the most intimate story-telling!
If you're not hip to jazz by an early age it takes a while to get it.
@@Johnnycdrums you hit the nail on the head. Unless you come up in a home where its played ALL THE TIME, it can be a tricky adjustment, to your ear. I did hear it in my household, all the time..and still, my appreciation of jaz, didnt really come to fruition until I was well into my 40s. Now...its extremely hard for me to NOT listen to it on a daily basis. my Mom is a big fan of Carmen...my stepfather was too. And it was his record collection that was full of jazz & classical stuff, that made me pay attention to Ms McRae. Her voice is so singular and beautiful. And most folks just dont realize how difficult it had to be, to carve your own niche in a small group of female jazz vocalists that werent just good...but were legendary (Sarah, Ella, Nancy, Nina, Esther P, Peggy Lee,..as well as Della)..and yet, Carmen turned into one of the greatest of the great, to ever do it, in this genre of music. She's basically a music-giant. A game changer.
Very, very exciting, my devotion to Big Carmen, and Diana and the big issue called Yesterday.
This is an amazing tribute to Ms. Carmen McRae, but listening to this performance just proves that Dianne Reeves is the child of Sarah Vaughan. Listen to those swooping and soaring lines in the first 2 minutes. Incredible!
direfranchement I agree. I thought the same thing when I heard Dianne Reeves beautiful rendition.
wow i have this on vhs somewhere,i remember it very vividly,it was around 1992.....they showed an old b&w clip of Mother Carmen and it had this kind of dark tuba like horn on it and i've never forgotten about it after these years.....i wish i knew the song. RIP Carmen McCrae.
I can see why the tune is hard to identify ... It's "Yesterdays" by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Otto Harbach. Diane Reeves disguised it pretty well, although that was probably not her intention.
Great chart !
Wow!
Does anybody have Carmen singing "take five"? there must be video since that piece is known all over the map.The studio original is very good but very short.
And Bless Dianne.
lol.
I believe Patrice Rushen is on keys too..Sheeesh!!!
This is a lesson in registration: falsetto and chest balance.
My friend said breath control is in that too. truth?
Wo!
Great! Thanks!
Can i post in my channel
Thank you!
Dubhglas Zaffa yes
Great! Thank you!
She passed on November 10th 1994. My guess it was that year or the year before. But QuickStix above should know since they were there that day...
Della should sang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
????? what is with the Krall love and Cassandra Wilson too? Nneenna Freelon, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rachelle Ferrelle, Patti Austin and Ms Reeves get ignored but there is Krall on Tavis.
i love dianne! but what the hell with her dress!!!! it looks like a costum!
The better singers always get kicked to the crub..
she was..and to my mind, is STILL "music royalty". Not just jazz...but she set a standard in popular music. There was a time, when you listen to AM stations and on the same station you'd hear Rosemary Clooney singing pop music, right after you heard Carmen and Della singing it. But music, as it often does, CHANGED...and many of the black artists (like, Carmen, Della, Lena and Ella) who were perfectly fine singing pop music in front of the better bands of the day, were MOVED away from pop music, and wound up being relegated to jazz..
because WHITE record execs were anxiety-ridden about their more marketable WHITE ACTS not being able to hold their own if they had to share space in pop music with black singers, who quite frankly, were better singers than Clooney, Peggy Lee, the Andrew Sisters, among other white artists. So, the reason why Carmen is one of the queens of popular music, without being known as a pop music icon, is because of how she simply refined her pop chops and became one of the better jazz vocalists on Planet Earth.
She is a true trailblazer. There is no Anita Baker or Dionne Warwick or Sade or Patti LaBelle, had it NOT been for women like Carmen, Dinah, Nancy Wilson, Della, Sarah or Ella. Ms McRae is THAT important to music and its history in this country.