Barbara Rosene is 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. Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Rosene grew up hearing

and

big band music 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 ...

from her father's record collection. Her grandfather was a singer in the 1920s and '30s and performed on the radio in Cleveland. Barbara Rosene majored in English at

John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...

and picked up early experience singing with the school choir, performing with a big band and at a jazz bar. Early on she was influenced by

Annette Hanshaw Catherine Annette Hanshaw (October 18, 1901 – March 13, 1985) was an American Jazz Age singer. She was one of the most popular radio stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s, with many of her most notable performances taking place on NBC's Maxwel ...

and

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 Sentime ...

. Her love for 1920s music has been with her much of her life. After moving to New York City in 1997, Rosene auditioned successfully for

Vince Giordano Vince Giordano (born March 11, 1952) is an American saxophonist and leader of the New York-based Nighthawks Orchestra. He specializes in jazz of the 1920s and 1930s and his primary instrument is the bass saxophone. Vince Giordano and the Nightha ...

's Nighthawks over the phone. She performed regularly with Giordano for a couple of years, and he assisted her on her first album, ''Deep Night'', a tribute to Annette Hanshaw. Rosene has sung with

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

and with

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's New Orleans jazz band. Since 2007 she has sung with the

Harry James Orchestra Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

directed by Fred Radke.

Discography

* ''Deep Night'' (

Stomp Off Stomp Off is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1980 by Bob Erdos in York, Pennsylvania. The label's first release was ''Feelin' Devilish'' by Waldo's Gutbucket Serenaders. It was described in 1986 as concentrating on "jazz in t ...

, 2001) * ''Celebrating Bix'' ( Arbors, 2003) * ''Ev'rything's Made for Love'' (Stomp Off, 2004) * ''All My Life'' ( Azica, 2005) * ''Moon Song'' (Stomp Off, 2005) * ''It Was Only a Sun Shower'' (Stomp Off, 2007) * ''On the Brink'' (BluesBack, 2010) * ''Nice and Naughty'' (Stomp Off, 2013)

References

* Yanow, Scott (2008), ''The Jazz Singers'', Backbeat Books.

External links

Barbara Rosene's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosene, Barbara American jazz singers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Singers from Cleveland John Carroll University alumni Singers from New York (state) Jazz musicians from Ohio