Audrey Morris (November 12, 1928 – April 1, 2018) was an American singer and pianist who specialized in jazz ballads.

Biography

Morris was born on November 12, 1928, in Chicago. Morris grew up on the

South Side of Chicago The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and w ...

and had classical piano lessons in her childhood. Through the radio broadcasts of ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year ru ...

'', she developed an interest in songs. In her school days she wrote lyrics. Her idols included

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

Lee Wiley Lee Wiley (October 9, 1908 – December 11, 1975) was an American jazz singer during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Biography Wiley was born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. At fifteen, she left home to pursue a singing career, singing on New York ...

Mildred Bailey Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs " For Sentimenta ...

, and Peggy Lee. In 1950, she began performing in the Capitol Lounge and four years later began singing at

Mister Kelly's Mister Kelly’s was a nightclub on Rush Street in Chicago which existed from 1953 to 1975. From around 1956 until its demise, it was a springboard to fame for many entertainers, especially jazz singers and comedians. As reported in the ''Chicago ...

. She recorded her first album in 1955 for the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

sub-label "X" (''Bistro Ballads'', with

Johnny Pate John William Pate (born December 5, 1923) is an American former jazz bassist who became a producer, arranger, and leading figure in Chicago soul, pop, and rhythm and blues. He learned piano and tuba as a child and later picked up the bass guitar ...

); the following year for

Bethlehem Records Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. History Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the first ...

(''The Voice of Audrey Morris'' with arrangements by

Marty Paich Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...

). She was offered the opportunity to record an album of film theme music for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. In the following years, she continued to perform locally. She was the leader of a trio at London House, a jazz piano club. In the late 1960s, she limited her performances to her family. In 1981 she had another engagement at

Palmer House The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevators ...

. In 1985, she released the album ''Afterthoughts'' (with Stu Genovese). In the field of jazz, she was involved between 1955 and 2001 in twelve recording sessions.

Death

Morris died at the age of 89 on April 1, 2018, at Presence Resurrection Medical Center in

Norwood Park, Chicago Norwood Park is one of the 77 Chicago community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Big Oaks, Norwood Park East, Norwood Park West, Old Norwood Park, Oriole Park, and Union Ridge. The community area contains the oldest extant b ...

Discography

* ''Bistro Ballads Sung by Audrey Morris'' ("X", 1955) * ''The Voice of Audrey Morris'' (Bethlehem, 1956) * ''Afterthoughts'' (Fancy Faire, 1985) * ''Film Noir'' (Fancy Faire, 1989)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Audrey 1928 births 2018 deaths Singers from Chicago Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American women jazz singers American jazz pianists American jazz singers American women pianists Women jazz pianists