Carlo Jackie Paris (September 20, 1924 – June 17, 2004
/ref>) 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 and guitarist. He is best known for his recordings of "

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially ...

" and " 'Round Midnight" from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.

Music career

Early years

Paris was born and raised in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

, to an Italian-American family, where he attended

Nutley High School Nutley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Township of Nutley, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Nutley Publi ...

. His uncle Chick had been a guitarist with

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

's orchestra. Paris was a popular child entertainer in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

who shared the stage with

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

and the

Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed The Four Mills Brothers and originally known as Four Boys and a Guitar, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and g ...

. He tap danced from his youth and into his years in the US Army. After serving in the army during World War II, he was inspired by his friend

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

to assemble a trio featuring himself on guitar and vocals. The Jackie Paris Trio was a hit at the

Onyx Club The Onyx Club was a jazz club located on West 52nd Street in New York City.

on New York's 52nd Street.

Recording and performing

He recorded from the 1940s into the 2000s. His albums include ''Songs by Jackie Paris'' (

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by Bob Shad for the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Cli ...

), ''Jackie Paris Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin'' (

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

), and ''The Song Is Paris'' ( Impulse!). The first song that he recorded was "Skylark", on one of two sessions made by his trio for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

in 1947. He recorded

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

's "Round Midnight", which was produced by the critic

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

and featured a young

Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts ...

on piano. In 1949, he toured with the

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Orchestra and was invited to join

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

's Orchestra, but he was too exhausted to take it. Paris was part of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra that played at the famed Cavalcade of Jazz in Los Angeles at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. on July 10, 1949. They did a second concert at Lane Field in San Diego on September 3, 1949. He was the only vocalist to tour as a regular member of the

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Quintet. Unfortunately, no recordings exist of the Parker–Paris combination, but there is a photograph of the two working together. He worked often with

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

, who called Paris his favorite singer and recorded with him often, including 1952's "Paris in Blue" and "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" on the album ''

Changes Two ''Changes Two'' is an album by Charles Mingus. It was recorded on 27, 28, and 30 December 1974 at Atlantic Studios in New York City—the same sessions which resulted in Mingus's album '' Changes One''. Atlantic Records initially released the rec ...

'' in 1974. During the 1960s–70s, Paris frequently performed with his wife at the time Anne Marie Moss. Paris performed or recorded with Bobby Scott,

Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few h ...

Eddie Costa Edwin James Costa (August 14, 1930 – July 28, 1962) was an American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. In 1957, he was chosen as ''DownBeat'' jazz critics' new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two ...

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 17, 1983), later in life changing his name to Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing ...

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

Joe Wilder Joseph Benjamin Wilder (February 22, 1922 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master's Hall of Fame Award in 2006. The National Endowment for the Arts honored h ...

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for '' The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in hi ...

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Jazz bassist Christian McBride called Pettiford "probably the most imp ...

Ralph Burns Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attend ...

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

, and

Wynton Kelly Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of 1 ...

. A documentary about him
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris
came out in 2006.

Recognition

He won many jazz polls and awards, including those of ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'', ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'', ''Swing Journal'', and ''

Metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

''. In 1953, he was named Best New Male Vocalist of the Year in the first ''Down Beat'' Critics Poll. The winning female vocalist was

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, who repeatedly named Paris as one of her favorites. In 2001, Paris played to a standing room crowd – and to a standing ovation – at New York's Birdland jazz club in Times Square. He was virtually the only performer to have appeared at every incarnation of the famed night spot, from the legendary Birdland of the 1950s to the present. He was praised by comic

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...

, who shared the bill with him on many occasions. Bruce said, "I dig his talent. The audience loves him and he gets laughs. He is too much!"

Awards and honors

* New Star Male Vocalist, ''

'' Critics Poll, 1953 * Best Male Vocalist, ''Playboy'' Musicians & Critics Poll, 1957–1961 * Gold Disc Award, ''Lucky to Be Me'', ''Swing Journal'', 1989

Discography

* ''Songs by Jackie Paris'' (Wing, 1956) * ''Skylark'' (Brunswick, 1957) * ''The Jackie Paris Sound'' (EastWest, 1958) * '' The Song Is Paris'' (Impulse!, 1962) * ''Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin'' (Time, 1962) * ''Live at the Maisonette'' with Anne Marie Moss (Differant Drummer, 1975) * ''Jackie Paris'' (Audiophile, 1981) * ''Nobody Else but Me'' (Audiophile, 1988) * ''Lucky to Be Me'' (EmArcy, 1989) * ''Love Songs'' (EmArcy, 1990) * ''The Intimate Jackie Paris'' (Hudson, 2001)

References

External links

Official website

Clip 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris

Documentary 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Jackie American jazz guitarists American jazz singers American people of Italian descent Nutley High School alumni People from Nutley, New Jersey 1924 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Musicians from Essex County, New Jersey