Thursday 7 October 2021

Irma Curry born 7 October 1928


Irma Curry (born October 7, 1928) is not exactly a household name; in fact I would be surprised if very many people are aware that she was a singer of more than average ability. She aspired to be a blues and jazz singer and she had the voice and delivery to achieve that aim. Her phrasing and diction were immaculate and she had an in born swing which many singers failed to deliver. 

Born during the Depression, Irma and her brother and sister were raised in Baltimore. As a child she was surrounded by music. Her parents and their families sang gospel and popular songs, and the radio was always on. Her father was a labourer and her mother was a housewife who also did factory work. She had one brother and a sister. Her parents and their families sang gospel and popular songs. 

Irma never took music or singing lessons but she harmonized with her parents and listened carefully to the records of singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, June Christy, Margaret Whiting, Judy Garland, Jo Stafford and others. Although she never intended to be a singer, music was always in her heart and later she could play piano by ear. By the time she attended the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, she entered a singing contest and won. 

Her first professional break came when she was spotted singing at church by a Baltimore radio announcer named Chuck Richards. When TV arrived in the late 1940s, a local station held a big contest. Chuck entered her and she won for eight weeks straight. One of the prizes was an engagement at Club Astoria, a local nightclub. Irma wasn’t old enough so she had to have permission from her parents. Whilst at the Astora she sang mostly standards with a four-piece house band. 


                             

During 1949, the Royal Theatre on Pennsylvania Ave. hosted many of the big acts that came through town. During my Irma’s week at the Astoria, Lionel Hampton was at the Royal. Hampton and some of his musicians stopped by the club after their concert. Hampton was amazed about her voice and hired her on the spot. With Chuck Richards as her chaperone she arrived at New York in January 1950.

After her studio audition sessions Hampton wanted her as a full time singer. She soon became good friends with Hampton’s wife Gladys and was nicknamed “Lil’ Bits,” because she was only 4 foot 10½ inches and weighed about 90 pounds. She spent a few years touring with the band but by 1953 had left due to a discrepancy over her wages.

Quincy Jones & Irma

It’s not until 1959 Irma that I find Irma was singing with the Count Lanz Quartet. Then in 1962 that Irma appears in the press again when she recorded her only album with the multi-instrumentalist Don Elliott and his Orchestra (which in fact is only a sextet), with arrangements by Al Cohn. Unlike most singers who on their first album tend to chose well known standards Irma Curry took the brave decision to record an album of songs with lyrics by Jack Segal a talented writer but hardly high profile. 

Irma also recorded several singles with Benny Carter in 1964 and with the Alan Simon Trio in 1985. In between, she performed at clubs in New York and Hollywood, including gigs with Louis Jordan, but it was getting harder to find opportunities when rock and soul came in. She went back to New York and worked around town with her own trio. By then, disco was taking over, but Irma was fortunate to continue working through the 1970s and played with Roland Hanna, Ron Carter and others. 

Irma never stopped singing. She stayed in New York and raised her daughter, Kim. They eventually moved to Philadelphia and then to Connecticut when Kim attended college. 

(And that dear music lovers is where the trail ends. The biography comes from a 2015 interview, so I can only assume Irma is still alive as I can find no other press statements, which now means she is 93 years old.

(Edited from Marc Myers 2015 interview & Fresh Sound Records) 

11 comments:

boppinbob said...

FOR “IRMA CURRY & DON ELLIOTT - LOVE IS A NECESSARY EVIL
(+ 6 BONUS TRACKS) (Fresh Sound Records 2015)” GO HERE:

https://www.upload.ee/files/13529532/Irma_Curry.rar.html

01. Love Is a Necessary Evil (Segal-Fisher) 2:05
02. A Stranger in the City (Segal-Danzig) 2:28
03. Forget About the Boy (Segal-Russell) 2:33
04. Too Much Too Soon (Segal-Fisher) 1:58
05. When Sunny Gets Blue (Segal-Fisher) 2:47
06. Goin Back to Joes (Segal-Fisher) 3:26
07. Forgetful (Segal-Handy) 2:44
08. Cant Help It (Segal-Fisher) 2:16
09. No Spring This Year (Segal-Russell) 2:38
10. Aint Nobody Home (Segal-Fisher) 1:50
11. No One Came to My Party (Segal-Russell) 2:38
12. Leavin Town (Segal-Handy) 2:59
13. Love Is a Necessary Evil [Reprise] (Segal-Fisher) 1:16
14. A Heart Must Learn to Cry (Tiomkin-Webster) 2:38 *
15. We Were In Love (Benny Carter) 2:58 *
16. Ill Never Be Free (Benjamin-Weiss) 3:21 *
17. Who Cares (Hampton-Hammer-Duncan) 3:15 *
18. If You Ever Learn to Love Me (Hammer-Croques) 3:14 *
19. A Kiss Was Just a Kiss [Recitation by Eve Lynn] (Wolff-Tishman) 2:48 *

* Bonus Tracks not part of the LP sequence

Sources:
Tracks #1-13, from the Columbia album "Love Is A Necessary Evil" (CS8554)
Tracks #14 & 15, from the 45 rpm Vee-Jay VJ 669
Track #16, from the 78 rpm Brunswick 04576
Track #17, from the 78 rpm Decca 27305
Track #18, from the 78 rpm Decca 28230
Track #19, from the 78 rpm MGM 11371

Personnel on #1-13:
Don Elliott & His Orchestra, arranged by Al Cohn
Irma Curry (vcl), Don Elliott, mellophone, vibes & scat singing; Hal McKusick, alto sax; Barry Galbraith & Chuck Wayne, guitars; Bill Crow, bass; and Jo Jones, drums.
Recorded in New York City, January, 1962

Personnel on #14-15:
Irma Curry, vocals, with Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by Benny Carter.
Recorded in Chicago, 1965

Personnel on #16-19:
Irma Curry, vocals, with Lionel Hamptons Orchestra
Recorded in New York, January 25 (#16), October 30 (#18); Los Angeles, October 13 (#17), 1950; and New York, May 8 (#19), 1951

"The first 13 tracks come from the LP of the same title (Columbia CS8554) and present this very good jazz and ballad singer in one of her very few starring appearances on record. The songs are interesting, all tracks being co-compositions of lyricist Jack Segal with music mainly by Marvin Fisher (also Evelyn Danzig, George Handy and Maddy Russell), with Al Cohns arrangements.

Then come both sides of a single (We Were In Love is Benny Carter composition), while the final four tracks come from her spell with Lionel Hampton that introduced her to the jazz world. Many of the songs for which Segal wrote lyrics enjoyed great success but few regularly feature in a jazz artists repertoire and there is thus a fresh air to the set with Elliott. Currys voice is strong and melodic, she phrases beautifully, enunciates clearly, interpreting lyrics with understanding, and altogether sings with real jazz feeling.

After some decades away from the spotlight, Irma Curry was interviewed by Marc Myers for his JazzWax website. On the strength of this hugely enjoyable album she richly deserves to be much better known. This release is a good (very nearly the only) place today to hear her and is very warmly recommended."

Bruce Crowther (Jazz Journal, June 2015)

rntcj said...

Hi!

Thanx for this one + Bonus tracks. As mentioned, a "new" artist = "new" hears here.

Cheers!
Ciao! For now.
rntcj

gimpiero said...

In Italy Upload has problems with commercials we can download ..

gimpiero said...

... sorry we can't download ...

Crab Devil said...

Thank you!

boppinbob said...

hello gimpiero try this link:

https://mega.nz/file/VzQzRQrB#HUKDVqrAL6y5kL7RGIJJNDC9iFV6gSdE1_ooRqF_n0Y

Bob Mac said...

Many thanks for this.

gimpiero said...

Thank you for mega file is Ok. Today Upload is ok ... but some days not ... thanks!

anra said...

Muchas gracias.
Saludos.

David Federman said...

All those Jack Segal songs like "Forgetful" and "Keep Going Back to Joe's" in one place sung by one great singer. Thank you for this treasure. I always wondered why David Allyn and Chet Baker were the only ones to sing a song as extraordinary as "Forgetful." And while I admit Nat Cole's and Mark Murphy's versions of "Keep Going Back to Joe's" are wonderful, gee it's nice to hear a woman sing them.

Professor Patrick Dorian said...

Boppin' Bob:

Irma Curry is indeed well and happy. I'm assisting her with her autobiography as she looks for the right publisher. She'll be 95 in October!

Kind regards,

Patrick Dorian pdorian@esu.edu

https://quantum.esu.edu/insider/professor-patrick-dorian/