Carlo
Jackie Paris (September 20, 1924 – June 17, 2004) was an American jazz singer
and guitarist.
Jackie
Paris was born in Nutley, New Jersey to his father Carlo and mother Rose. He
had a brother, Gene. A vocalist, Paris toured with Charlie Parker. He also
tap-danced from his youth and into his years in the US Army, entertaining his
fellow soldiers. He is best known for his recordings of "Skylark" and
"'Round Midnight" from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. He
performed and/or recorded with Terry Gibbs, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins,
Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd, Gigi Gryce, Charles Mingus, and others. He won
many jazz polls and awards, including those of Down Beat, Playboy, Swing
Journal, and Metronome.
Jackie
was born in Nutley, New Jersey to an Italian-American family. His uncle Chick
had been a guitarist with Paul Whiteman's famous orchestra.
He
was a very popular child entertainer in vaudeville, a pint-sized song and dance
man, who shared the stage with — and was encouraged by — such legendary black
headliners as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the Mills Brothers.
After
serving in the army during World War II, Paris, inspired by his friend Nat King
Cole, put together a trio featuring himself on guitar and vocals. The Jackie
Paris Trio were a hit at the Onyx Club on New York's 52nd Street. They played
at the club for an unprecedented 26 weeks, perhaps the longest-running residency
in the history of Swing Street.
The
first song that Jackie ever recorded was "Skylark", on one of two
sessions made by his trio, for MGM Records in 1947. The composer Hoagy
Carmichael once said of Paris' rendition that "the kid sings the hell out
of it."
In
1949, he was the first white vocalist to tour with the famous Lionel Hampton
Orchestra. He remembered an occasion when he actually did 78 consecutive
one-nighters with the band. When he finally got off the road, he received an
offer to join Duke Ellington's Orchestra, but at that time was too exhausted to
take it. For years after, Ellington's son Mercer would tell him, "You're
the only guy that ever turned down my old man."
He
was the first singer to record Thelonious Monk's future jazz anthem "Round
Midnight", which was produced by the famous critic Leonard Feather and
featured a young Dick Hyman on piano.
He
was the only vocalist to ever tour as a regular member of the Charlie Parker
Quintet. Unfortunately, no recordings exist of the Parker-Paris combination
(although the "Round Midnight" session mentioned above features
Parker's bassist and drummer, Tommy Potter and Roy Haynes), but there is a
classic photograph of the two working together.
In
1953, Jackie Paris was named Best New Male Vocalist of the Year in the first
ever Down Beat Critics Poll. The winning female vocalist was Ella Fitzgerald,
who repeatedly named Paris as as one of her favourites.
Charlie
Mingus named Paris as his favourite singer and used him on several recording
sessions over a period of many decades, including 1952's "Paris In
Blue" (written expressly for Paris) and the Mingus classic "Duke
Ellington's Sound of Love" on the album Changes Two in 1974. Paris also
worked extensively with the famous bassist, composer and bandleader in clubs.
He
was the only singer ever endorsed by the legendary comic and 20th century
iconoclast Lenny Bruce. Bruce not only shared the bill with Paris on many
occasions, he shouted Paris's praises, saying "I dig his talent. The
audience loves him and he gets laughs. He is toooo muccchhh!"
Other
major musicians with whom Paris recorded include Hank Jones, Charlie Shavers,
Joe Wilder, Wynton Kelly, Eddie Costa, Coleman Hawkins, Bobby Scott, Max Roach,
Lee Konitz, Donald Byrd, Gigi Gryce, Ralph Burns, Tony Scott, Neal Hefti, Terry
Gibbs, Johnny Mandel, and Oscar Pettiford.
In
2001, he played to a standing room crowd — and to a standing ovation — at New
York's Birdland jazz club in Times Square. He was virtually the only performer
to have appeared at every incarnation of the famed night spot, from the
legendary Birdland of the 1950s to the present. He last performed in New York
in March, 2004 at the Jazz Standard. Reviewing that performance, Robert L.
Daniels of Variety wrote that Mr. Paris's familiar, warm, crusty baritone voice
had lost none of its earthy passion or velvety lustre.
Here’s
a music clip featuring scenes from the feature length documentary, "Tis
Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris"
5 comments:
For JACKIE PARIS - SINGS THE LYRICS OF IRA GERSHWIN (1960) go here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/1bydbdldnpg/JACKIE+PARIS+-+SINGS+THE+LYRICS+OF+IRA+GERSHWIN.zip
1.Girl Of The Moment
2.Girl That Got Away
3.Let's Take A Walk Around The Block
4.This Is New
5.There's No Holding Me
6.Sure Thing
7.For The Life Of Me
8.Long Ago And Far Away
9.That Moment Of Moments
10.My Ship
11.Fun To Be Fooled
12.One Life To Live
13.Girl Of The Moment
14.There's No Holding Me
15.Sure Thing
16.Fun To Be Fooled
Hi dear Robert! after a long time away from the internet I found this gem, what a fantastic album you've shared! Miss you, my friend. Enjoy your weekend. Kisses from Brazil. Thank you!
Hi Eliane, great to see you back in circulation!
I must say that almost every time I log on here, I am pleasantly surprised with artists that I might never have known, if it weren't for you sharing them with us with wonderful background notes! Thank you so very much!!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BOPPİNBOP !
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