Nancy Harrow (born October 3, 1930,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) 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 and songwriter.

Career

Harrow studied classical piano beginning at age seven, then decided to pursue careers in dancing and singing. She released an album for

Candid Records Candid Records was a jazz record label first established in New York City. Early Candid Records The CANDID jazz label was founded in New York City in 1960 as a subsidiary of Cadence Records, owned by Archie Bleyer. The jazz writer and civil righ ...

in 1961 (featuring

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

, Dickie Wells, and

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

) and one for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1962 (featuring

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Dick Katz Richard Aaron Katz (March 13, 1924 – November 10, 2009) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and record producer. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with O ...

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

, Jim Hall, Richard Davis, and

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Biography Self-taught on drums, Kay began performing in Los Ange ...

), then left music to raise a family. She returned to music in 1975. Since then she has worked with Katz and Woods,

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

, and

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombone, valve trombonist, Jazz piano, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public ...

. She recorded albums based on ''The Lost Lady'' by

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...

and ''

The Marble Faun ''The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni'', also known by the British title ''Transformation'', was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was published in 1860. ''The Marble Faun'', written on the eve of the Ame ...

'' by

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

. Her album ''Winter Dreams'', based on the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, was used for the musical ''This Side of Paradise'', which ran for six weeks in New York City in 2010 at the Theatre at St. Clements and in 2013 at the History Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. ''For the Last Time'', a jazz musical based on ''The Marble Faun'', ran for six weeks at the Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row in New York City in 2015. Two of Harrow's song cycles were based on children's stories. ''The Adventures of Maya the Bee'', based on a story by Waldemar Bonsels, ran as a puppet show in New York City for seven years, was translated into Japanese, and was performed in Japan for two years. ''The Cat Who Went to Heaven'', based on a story by

Elizabeth Coatsworth Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing ''The Cat Who Went to Hea ...

, had short runs in New York City at the Mercer Street Theater, the Asia Society, and

the Harlem School of the Arts Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is an art school located in the Harlem, New York, Harlem section of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Opening its doors in 1964, HSA serves ages 2 through 18. History Harlem School of the Arts was founded ...

. It had elevens performances at the Kennedy Center in the spring of 2011 and was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014. Harrow is the mother of

Damon Krukowski Damon Krukowski (born September 6, 1963) is an American musician, poet and writer. He was a member of the dreampop band Galaxie 500 and the psychedelic rock band Magic Hour (band), Magic Hour, and is half of the psychedelic folk duo Damon & Naomi ...

, a musician with the band

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American indie rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three studio albums: '' Today'' (1988), '' On Fire'' (1989), and '' This Is Our Music'' (1990). The band membership comprised guitarist and v ...

and the duo Damon and Naomi.

Discography

As leader

* ''Wild Women Don't Have the Blues'' ( Candid, 1961) * ''You Never Know'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1962) * ''Anything Goes'' (

Audiophile An audiophile (from + ) is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. The audiophile seeks to achieve high sound quality in the audio reproduction of recorded music, typically in a quiet listening space in a room with ...

, 1979) * ''Two's Company'' (

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

, 1984) * ''You're Nearer'' (Tono, 1986) * ''Street of Dreams'' (Poljazz, 1989) * ''The Beatles & Other Standards'' (Nippon Phonogram/EmArcy, 1990) * ''Secrets'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1991) * ''Lost Lady'' (Soul Note, 1994) * ''The Marble Faun'' (Harbinger, 1999) * ''The Adventures of Maya the Bee'' (Harbinger, 2000) * ''Winter Dreams: The Life and Passions of F. Scott Fitzgerald'' ( Artists House, 2003) * ''The Cat Who Went to Heaven'' (Artists House, 2005) * ''An Intimate Evening With Nancy Harrow'' (Benfan, 2010) * ''In the Wee Small Hours'' (Camerata, 2010) * ''The Song Is All'' (Benfan, 2016) * ''Partners'' (Benfan, 2018) * ''Partners II: I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I've Got (Benfan, 2021)

As guest

, ''The John Lewis Album for Nancy Harrow'' (Finesse, 1981)

References

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

, Nancy Harrow profile at Allmusic.com

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrow, Nancy 1930 births 21st-century American women American jazz singers American women jazz singers Atlantic Records artists Black Saint/Soul Note artists Candid Records artists Inner City Records artists Jazz musicians from New York (state) Living people Singers from New York City