Ernestine Anderson
With
a new CD Love Makes the Changes High Note, 2003) on the top of the charts,
Ernestine Anderson demonstrates once again that her special bluesy style
has an enormous appeal. An acknowledged virtuoso of the blues -- her rendition
of "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" is a classic -- Ms. Anderson is equally
superb with ballads and swing.
From intimate trio formats to big band, she does it all with seductive sophistication. Her sultry, sensuous voice is intimate in small club settings and soars with passionate intensity in the festival arena. Whether it's Ellington or Sting, Ms. Anderson's interpretation of a song is infectious. On stage, she's charming and vivacious, her joy in the music delighting audiences from Sweden to Japan. Ms. Anderson has recorded more than 30 albums, performed at all the major jazz festivals, and has received four Grammy nominations. She was one of 75 women chosen for the book, I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America, by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Brian Lanker, joining such company as Rosa Parks, Leontyne Price, Barbara Jordan, and Toni Morrison.
 Born
in Houston, Texas, on November 11, 1928, into a musical family, Ernestine
grew up listening to the blues. As a child, she joined her father
and grandmother singing gospel. When she was twelve, Ernestine entered
a talent contest and so impressed trumpeter Russell Jacquet that he
hired her on the spot to sing with his big band. When she was 18,
she left Seattle, where her family had moved in 1944, to tour for
a year with the Johnny Otis band. In 1952, she went on tour with Lionel
Hampton's orchestra. After a year with the legendary band, she settled
in New York, determined to make her way as a singer. In 1955, she
cut a few tracks with alto saxophonist GiGi Gryce, which brought her
to the attention of the larger jazz world. |
 A
few months later, she was asked to go on a Scandinavian tour, where
she was a huge sensation, the adoring Swedes dubbing her "Stina".
Anderson recorded her first solo album in Sweden, which was released
here in 1958 by Mercury Records and retitled Hot Cargo. Her star rose
rapidly; she was asked to perform in the first Monterey Jazz Festival
in 1958, named "Best New Vocal Star" in Down Beat's 1959 Critics Poll,
and was featured in Time magazine. In the 1960s, changing musical
tastes made it tough for American jazz musicians, and like many others,
Ms. Anderson moved to Europe to pursue her career. After a few years
in London, she returned home and went into semi-retirement, performing
only occasionally in local clubs. |
 After
joining the Buddhist church, she felt a renewed interest in singing.
With the urging of bassist Ray Brown, she resumed her career and signed
with Concord Records in 1976.She stayed with the label for fifteen
years, making nearly 20 albums. Two -- Never Make Your Move Too Soon
(1981) and Big City (1983) -- received Grammy nominations. |
She then signed with Quincy Jones' label, Qwest, and recorded Now and Then in 1993 and Blues, News & Love News in 1996, both of which were nominated for Grammys. In 1998, Koch Jazz issued Isn't It Romantic, a collection of beautiful jazz standards, which received wide critical acclaim. Ernestine Anderson has earned her title of "jazz legend." Years of singing and living have shaped a vocalist who can make your heart cry one moment and dance the next. Poignant ballads, sassy swing, and down-home blues--Ernestine Anderson is master of them all.