Roy Kral (October 10, 1921 – August 2, 2002) 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 ...

pianist, arranger, and vocalist. Known for his partnership with his wife

Jackie Cain Jacqueline Ruth Cain (May 22, 1928 – September 15, 2014) was an American jazz singer known for her partnership with her husband in the duo Jackie and Roy. She was the sister-in-law of singer Irene Kral. Life and career Born in Milwaukee, Wis ...

as the duo

Jackie and Roy Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name) Jackie or Jacky is a given name or nickname for both males and females, often a pet form of Jack (given name), Jack or other names. People Men * Jackie B ...

, he was also the brother of the singer

Irene Kral Irene Kral (January 18, 1932 – August 15, 1978) was an American jazz singer. Life She was born to Czechoslovak parents in Chicago and settled in Los Angeles, California, in the early 1960s. She died from breast cancer in Encino, Los Angeles. ...

and the father of actress

Tiffany Bolling Tiffany Bolling (born Tiffany Royce Kral in 1947) is a retired American actress, model and singer, best known for her appearances in cult movies. Early years Bolling was born in Santa Monica, California. Her father was singer/pianist Roy Kr ...

Early years

Born in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero is a town in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,268, making it the 11th-most populous municipality in Illinois. The town is named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a R ...

, Kral's parents were Joseph F. and Georgiana Kral. His father was a politician in Cicero. As a child, Kral studied classical piano, but his interest changed to jazz in the 1930s.

Career

During World War II, Kral served in the Army as an arranger for the Army band. When he returned to Chicago, he joined the George Davis Quartet. While working with this quartet he met the singer Jackie Cain with whom he formed the duo, Jackie and Roy. The couple became well known in the 1940s and 1950s for their unusual duets which often employed quick-witted lyrics and adept

vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

. Jackie was also admired as a solo ballad singer. In 1948 the duo joined

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands ...

's band with Kral serving as the band's pianist as well as an arranger. Particularly successful for the band were arrangements by Kral of the jazz standards "

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

" and " Pennies from Heaven". The couple left Ventura's band shortly before their marriage in June 1949, and afterwards performed briefly as a part of a bop sextet organized by Kral. In 1950 Kral and his wife moved to Chicago, where they appeared in their own television show. In 1953 they returned to Ventura's band for an eighth month period, and then after were active as performers in New York and Los Angeles in the mid 1950s. From 1957–1960 the duo performed in Las Vegas. The singer Anita O’Day temporarily replaced Jackie as part of the duo on periodic occasions in the 1950s during the births of the couple's two daughters. In 1963 Kral and his family settled in New York City. In that city Kral became active as a composer of

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s for television commercials, and Jackie and Roy appeared in many commercials in the 1960s. The duo continued to record and tour internationally in performance into the 1990s.

Personal life

Kral and Cain married in 1949. They had three daughters.

Death

Kral died of congestive heart failure in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

. He was 80 years old.

Discography

As Jackie & Roy * ''Time and Love'' (CTI 6019) * ''High Standards'' (Concord CJ 186) * ''Lovesick'' (Verve V6 8688) * ''Star Sounds'' (Concord CJ 115) * ''Changes'' (Verve V 8668) * ''A Wilder Alias'' (CTI 6040) * ''The Soundheim Collection'' (Finesse FW 38324) * ''Sing Baby Sing'' (Storyville STLP 915) * ''The Glory of Love'' (ABC Paramount ABC 120) * ''Free and Easy with the Bill Holman Orchestra'' (ABC Paramount ABC 207) * ''In the Spotlight'' (ABC Paramount ABC 267) With Don Sebesky *'' Giant Box'' (CTI, 1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kral, Roy 1921 births 2002 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American jazz singers Singers from Chicago People from Cicero, Illinois Savoy Records artists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians United States Army personnel of World War II