Philadelphia-born composer and vocalist Joan La Barbara was formally trained as a classical singer, but by the late 1960s, she’d decided she wanted to push her artistry into unfamiliar territories. She found her inspiration in New York, especially from scat singers, free improvisers, and the jazz avant-garde. In her early experiments, she taught herself to […]
Tag: singer
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Chicago native Tatiana Hazel crafts pop songs for the arena shows of tomorrow
Chicago native Tatiana Hazel has come a long way since she started uploading acoustic performances to YouTube as a preteen a decade ago. This past summer she dropped a new EP, And the World Will Turn (Creative Music Group/Tatiana Hazel), and though she made it in solitude, it’s clearly meant to be performed in front […]
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Andrew ‘Big Voice’ Odom sang for blues stars but never became one
Andrew “Big Voice” Odom toured internationally—and also used to drop by Maxwell Street and overwhelm the makeshift sound systems.
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Paulette McWilliams’s A Woman’s Story shows why stars have always relied on her voice
In the early 1970s, singer Paulette McWilliams quit ascending Chicago R&B group Rufus and recommended that her friend, Chaka Khan, take over the lead spot. The decision benefited everyone, even (and arguably especially) McWilliams, who dodged the pitfalls of limelight while continuing to work constantly in music. By the time she relocated to Los Angeles […]
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Prewar blues great Georgia White died forgotten in Chicago
Singer and pianist Georgia White made dozens of classic records for Decca from 1935 to 1941, then fell off the map in the 1970s.
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Three Beats: Chicago vs. Atlanta on a new cassette comp of local psych
Plus: A transformed Singer returns for a second album, and Parallax Sounds, a doc on Chicago architecture and music, needs your support
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2/28 — Free Pete Seeger Documentary at the Empty Bottle
Pete Seeger: Power of Song screens for free at the Empty Bottle on Sun 2/28 at 7 PM.
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Todd Rittmann and Jeff Tady gallery reception Friday
This weekend only: art show with Todd Rittmann and Jeff Tady
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Alberta Adams
In the 40s and early 50s blues singer Alberta Adams was a regular headliner on Detroit’s Hastings Street strip, and she kept some big-name company on the road: Duke Ellington and Louis Jordan both hired her as a featured performer. But though she worked with top-flight musicians and recorded sides for prestigious labels like Chess […]
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Allison Moorer
After making three terrific studio albums and a decent live recording for Universal’s Nashville division, Allison Moorer had very little to show for it–major-label publicity machines aren’t programmed to deal with idiosyncratic artistry like hers–so she negotiated her way out of her contract and inked a new deal with the indie Sugar Hill. Doyle Primm, […]