Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009), was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer.

Biography

Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shirley. She became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for eight years during middle school and high school. She sang with the college band at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, playing at functions in Columbia, Missouri. In 1949, Connor recorded two songs with Claude Thornhill's band: "There's a Small Hotel" and "I Don't Know Why". With Jerry Wald's

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

she recorded "You're the Cream in My Coffee", "

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

", " Pennies from Heaven", "Raisins and Almonds", and "Terremoto". Connor and Thornhill reunited in 1952 for a radio broadcast from the Statler Hotel in New York City for which she sang " Wish You Were Here", " Come Rain or Come Shine", "Sorta Kinda", and "Who Are We to Say". She made her final recordings for HighNote: ''Haunted Heart'' in 2001 and ''Everything I Love'' in 2003. ''Billboard'' reported in 1955 that Connor's first two solo albums for Bethlehem, ''Sings Lullabys of Birdland'' and ''Sings Lullabys for Lovers'', ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the jazz chart for the week ending April 23, 1955. In 1957, she ranked No. 10 in the Favorite Female Vocalist disk jockey popularity poll behind Lena Horne and June Christy.

Death

A resident of Toms River, New Jersey, Connor died there from cancer on August 29, 2009, at the age of 81. Her longtime partner was her manager, Lori Muscarelle. Holden, Stephen
"Chris Connor, Jazz Singer Whose Voice Embodied a Wistful Cool, Dies at 81"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 1, 2009. Accessed September 17, 2019. "Chris Connor, the great jazz singer whose lush, foggy voice and compressed emotional intensity distilled a 1950s jazz reverie of faraway longing in a sad cafe, died on Saturday in Toms River, N.J. She was 81 and lived in Toms River. ..Ms. Connor is survived by her longtime partner and manager, Lori Muscarelle."

Discography

* ''Sings Lullabys of Birdland'' ( Bethlehem, 1954) * ''Sings Lullabys for Lovers'' (Bethlehem, 1954) * ''This Is Chris'' (Bethlehem, 1955) * ''Chris'' (Bethlehem, 1956) * '' Chris Connor'' ( Atlantic, 1956) * ''He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not'' (Atlantic, 1956) * ''I Miss You So'' (Atlantic, 1957) * ''Chris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song'' (Atlantic, 1957) * ''Chris Craft'' (Atlantic, 1958) * ''A Jazz Date with Chris Connor'' (Atlantic, 1958) * ''Sings Ballads of the Sad Cafe'' (Atlantic, 1959) * ''Witchcraft'' (Atlantic, 1959) * ''Chris in Person'' (Atlantic, 1959) * ''A Portrait of Chris'' (Atlantic, 1960) * '' Two's Company'' with Maynard Ferguson (

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

, 1961) * '' Double Exposure'' with Maynard Ferguson (Atlantic, 1961) * ''Free Spirits'' (Atlantic, 1962) * ''At the Village Gate: Early Show/Late Show'' (FM, 1963) * ''A Weekend in Paris'' (FM, 1964) * ''Sings Gentle Bossa Nova'' ( ABC-Paramount, 1965) * ''Chris Conner Now!'' (ABC 1966) * ''Sketches'' (Stanyan, 1972) * ''the Finest of Chris Connor'' (Bethlehem, 1975) * ''Sweet and Swinging'' ( Progressive, 1978) * ''Live'' (Applause, 1983) * ''Three Pearls'' with Ernestine Anderson, Carol Sloane (Eastworld, 1984) * ''Love Being Here with You'' ( Stash, 1984) * ''Classic'' ( Contemporary, 1987) * ''New Again'' (Contemporary, 1988) * ''As Time Goes by'' ( Enja, 1991) * ''Angel Eyes'' (Alfa, 1991) * ''The London Connection'' (Audiophile, 1993) * ''Haunted Heart'' (HighNote, 2001) * ''I Walk with Music'' (HighNote, 2002) * ''Everything I Love'' (HighNote, 2003)

References

External links

* Allmusic biographybr>Songbirds: Chris Connor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Chris 1927 births 2009 deaths Jazz musicians from Missouri Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Singers from Missouri 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers Atlantic Records artists Contemporary Records artists Enja Records artists Cool jazz musicians Cool jazz singers American lesbian musicians LGBTQ people from Missouri American LGBTQ singers Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Entertainers from Toms River, New Jersey American torch singers Traditional pop music singers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women