June Christy
Though she was the epitome of the vocal cool movement of the 1950s, June Christy was a warm, chipper vocalist able to stretch out her impressive voice on bouncy swing tunes and set herself apart from other vocalists with her deceptively simple enunciation. From her time in Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she inherited a focus on brassy swing from arranger friends like Pete Rugolo. Rugolo would become a consistent companion far into her solo days, too, arranging most of her LPs and balancing her gymnastic vocal abilities with a series of attentive charts.
Born Shirley Luster in Springfield, IL, she began singing early on and appeared with a local society band during high school. She moved to Chicago in the early '40s, changed her name to Sharon Leslie, and sang with a group led by Boyd Raeburn. In 1945, after hearing that Anita O'Day had just left Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she auditioned for the role and got it early that year. Despite an early resemblance (physically and vocally) to O'Day, the singer -- renamed June Christy -- soon found her own style: a warm, chipper voice that stretched out beautifully and enlivened Kenton's crossover novelties ("Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy," the million-selling "Tampico") as well as the leader's intricately arranged standards ("How High the Moon"). As she became more and more popular within the Kenton band, arranger Pete Rugolo began writing charts with her style especially in mind. After the Kenton orchestra broke up in 1948, Christy worked the nightclub circuit for awhile before reuniting with Kenton for his 1950 Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, a very modern 40-piece group that toured America. She had already debuted as a solo act the year before, recording for Capitol with a group led by her husband, Kenton tenor saxophonist Bob Cooper.
Christy's debut LP for Capitol, 1954's Something Cool, was recorded with Rugolo at the head of the orchestra. The album launched the vocal cool movement and hit the Top 20 album charts in America, as did a follow-up, The Misty Miss Christy. Her 1955 Duet LP paired her voice with Kenton's piano, while most of her Capitol LPs featured her with various Kenton personnel and Rugolo (or Bob Cooper) at the head of the orchestra. She reprised her earlier big-band days with 1959's June Christy Recalls Those Kenton Days, and recorded a raft of concept LPs before retiring in 1965. Christy returned to the studio only once, for 1977's Impromptu on Musicraft.
© John Bush /TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
Gone for the Day
Jazz - Erschienen bei Black Sheep Music am 31.08.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year from Stan Kenton & June Christy
Jazz - Erschienen bei White Christmas am 29.11.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Best of June Christy: Jazz Sessions (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 16.09.2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ballads For Night People (Remastered)
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 10.10.2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Misty Miss Christy (Remastered)
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 10.10.2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Something Cool
Jazzgesang - Erschienen bei CGH Ventures Inc. am 01.12.2011
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sings The Standards
Jazz - Erschienen bei EMI Catalogue am 01.01.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ladies in Jazz - June Christy
Jazz - Erschienen bei Ap music am 28.03.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Cafè (The Jazz Artists Book)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Cruisin Jazz am 25.08.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Cocktail Hour With June (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 20.11.2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Something Cool (2018 Digitally Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei AVID Jazz am 06.07.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swing When You Sing (The Big Band Special)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Show Business am 16.02.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
This Is..June Christy
Modern Jazz - Erschienen bei Poppydisc am 21.10.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
A Friendly Session Vol. 3
June Christy, The Johnny Guarnieri Quintet
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Jasmine Records am 08.04.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Band Specials
Jazz - Erschienen bei Giggling Gecko am 13.08.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The JAZZ Masters - June Christy
Jazz - Erschienen bei Master Series am 19.05.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo