Carmen Mcrae

CARMEN McRAE "For Lady Day" RCA Novus * * * 1/2 "I'm merely here," says Carmen McRae in her spoken introduction to this marvelous tribute to Billie Holiday, "to remind you of her taste in tunes, which I thought was phenomenal." And McRae, typically underestimating her own remarkable contributions to the art of jazz singing, then proceeds to do a lot more than just provide reminders.

MUSIC New York City-based vocalist Kate McGarry celebrates the release of her album "Girl Talk," a tribute to the singer's "beloved jazz singer-mothers" that includes nods toward Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan and Carmen McRae. Adding to the album's distinctively contemporary spark are underlying nods toward the sexual politics of today such as on an inspired turn with Rogers and Hammerstein's "We Kiss in a Shadow. " The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St. Suite 301, L.A. 9 p.m. Sat. $10. http://www.bluewhalemusic.com .

Lacking the vocal purity of Sarah Vaughan and the inordinate swing of Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae has secured her position in the grand triumvirate of female jazz singers with her extraordinary interpretive gifts. At the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood on Tuesday evening, where she is in residence through Sunday night, McRae presented those gifts in a 13-song opening set that was simply exquisite.

Tom Garvin, a jazz pianist and composer-arranger who was best known as an exceptional accompanist, died July 31 at an assisted living facility in Encino. He was 67. The cause was cancer, which diagnosed three years ago, said Tom Mitchell, a close friend. A fixture on the Los Angeles jazz scene, Garvin was "one of our town's better jazz pianists," The Times said in 1990. His specialty was accompaniment, and he did it "with a flair not often engendered by other pianists," John Gilbert wrote in 2003 in the online magazine jazzreview.com . Photos: Notable deaths of 2011: Music The many artists Garvin performed with include noted jazz vocalists Carmen McRae, Peggy Lee, Lou Rawls and Diane Schuur.

Carmen McRae's nightclub gigs often climaxed with a magical moment in which she sent her back-up band off-stage and sat down to accompany herself at the piano. There was something exquisite that happened when McRae, who died Thursday at the age of 72, accompanied herself, a creative clarity that perfectly illuminated her enormous strengths as a musical storyteller.

Carmen McRae, one of this era's premier vocalists, whose subtle interpretations of complex tonalities made her a favorite among both jazz musicians and their fiercely loyal fans, has died at her Beverly Hills home. Miss McRae died Thursday night at the age of 74, it was reported Friday. She had fallen into a near-coma four days earlier, a month after being hospitalized for a stroke.

Tom Garvin, a jazz pianist and composer-arranger who was best known as an exceptional accompanist, died July 31 at an assisted living facility in Encino. He was 67. The cause was cancer, which diagnosed three years ago, said Tom Mitchell, a close friend. A fixture on the Los Angeles jazz scene, Garvin was "one of our town's better jazz pianists," The Times said in 1990. His specialty was accompaniment, and he did it "with a flair not often engendered by other pianists," John Gilbert wrote in 2003 in the online magazine jazzreview.com . Photos: Notable deaths of 2011: Music The many artists Garvin performed with include noted jazz vocalists Carmen McRae, Peggy Lee, Lou Rawls and Diane Schuur.

MUSIC New York City-based vocalist Kate McGarry celebrates the release of her album "Girl Talk," a tribute to the singer's "beloved jazz singer-mothers" that includes nods toward Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan and Carmen McRae. Adding to the album's distinctively contemporary spark are underlying nods toward the sexual politics of today such as on an inspired turn with Rogers and Hammerstein's "We Kiss in a Shadow. " The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St. Suite 301, L.A. 9 p.m. Sat. $10. http://www.bluewhalemusic.com .

*** 1/2 Vanessa Rubin, "I'm Glad There Is You," Novus. Subtitled "A Tribute to Carmen McRae," this is a stylish, well-programmed set. Although Rubin makes no attempt to imitate her idol, there is a slight resemblance here and there, in tone and phrasing. With material such as Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," Thad Jones's "A Child Is Born" and Kurt Weill's "Speak Low," and with numerous guest soloists (Kenny Burrell, Grover Washington, Frank Foster), Rubin had a fail-safe project here.

From 1974 to 1984 I owned and ran two well-known jazz clubs in New York City. First Buddy's Place (Buddy Rich led the in-house band), a big-band and singers' nightclub near Madison Square Garden, and then from 1976 to 1984 Marty's, a small supper club featuring jazz singers with trios (such as Carmen McRae, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson and many more). I have listened to and known well most of the great jazz names. Not since the early '60s, when a young 18-year-old Brooklyn girl (Barbra Streisand)

From 1974 to 1984 I owned and ran two well-known jazz clubs in New York City. First Buddy's Place (Buddy Rich led the in-house band), a big-band and singers' nightclub near Madison Square Garden, and then from 1976 to 1984 Marty's, a small supper club featuring jazz singers with trios (such as Carmen McRae, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson and many more). I have listened to and known well most of the great jazz names. Not since the early '60s, when a young 18-year-old Brooklyn girl (Barbra Streisand)

Associating "women" with the word "Playboy" isn't exactly shocking, but the 24th installment of the Playboy Jazz Festival could easily be subtitled "The Year of the Women." Female jazz singers have always been present at the festival; still, this year's event, which takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl, has some special qualities for fans of the distaff side of jazz vocalizing. The distinctive musical wares of free-flying scat and ballad singer Nnenna Freelon; eclectic artist Patti Austin (doing an Ella Fitzgerald tribute with the Count Basie Orchestra)

CARMEN McRAE "For Lady Day" RCA Novus * * * 1/2 "I'm merely here," says Carmen McRae in her spoken introduction to this marvelous tribute to Billie Holiday, "to remind you of her taste in tunes, which I thought was phenomenal." And McRae, typically underestimating her own remarkable contributions to the art of jazz singing, then proceeds to do a lot more than just provide reminders.

Carmen McRae's nightclub gigs often climaxed with a magical moment in which she sent her back-up band off-stage and sat down to accompany herself at the piano. There was something exquisite that happened when McRae, who died Thursday at the age of 72, accompanied herself, a creative clarity that perfectly illuminated her enormous strengths as a musical storyteller.

Carmen McRae, one of this era's premier vocalists, whose subtle interpretations of complex tonalities made her a favorite among both jazz musicians and their fiercely loyal fans, has died at her Beverly Hills home. Miss McRae died Thursday night at the age of 74, it was reported Friday. She had fallen into a near-coma four days earlier, a month after being hospitalized for a stroke.

*** 1/2 Vanessa Rubin, "I'm Glad There Is You," Novus. Subtitled "A Tribute to Carmen McRae," this is a stylish, well-programmed set. Although Rubin makes no attempt to imitate her idol, there is a slight resemblance here and there, in tone and phrasing. With material such as Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," Thad Jones's "A Child Is Born" and Kurt Weill's "Speak Low," and with numerous guest soloists (Kenny Burrell, Grover Washington, Frank Foster), Rubin had a fail-safe project here.

Carmen McRae has reached that stage of her career at which such terms as legend and survivor are often applied. More importantly, as she demonstrated during her opening show Tuesday at Catalina's, she remains precisely what she was when her audiences called her youthful and promising --a jazz-directed singer of exceptional class. When a ballad mood is called for, she suffuses it with all the requisite tenderness, as she did on "Where Do You Start?"

Finding a follow-up to last year's stellar "McRae Sings Monk" collection was not easy, but this homage from one great singer to the memory of another strikes just the right note. Sarah Vaughan, a superb stylist with extraordinary vocal command, came to national attention with the big bands of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine in the '40s. Vaughan, who died last year, went as a solo artist to even greater acclaim in jazz and enjoyed a few pop hits in the '50s, including "Broken-Hearted Melody."

Carmen McRae has reached that stage of her career at which such terms as legend and survivor are often applied. More importantly, as she demonstrated during her opening show Tuesday at Catalina's, she remains precisely what she was when her audiences called her youthful and promising --a jazz-directed singer of exceptional class. When a ballad mood is called for, she suffuses it with all the requisite tenderness, as she did on "Where Do You Start?"