Gay jazz musicians
Pride playlist: Eight LGBTQ composers who helped define the Great American Songbook
Features & ColumnsMusic News
By Heather Bambrick/06/01
June is Pride Month in Toronto, as well as in cities and towns around the world. It’s a time to celebrate and to show noun and support for the LGBTQ+ community. For those members of the community itself, it’s also a time to mark the accomplishments and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals in various areas of society, most certainly in the arts.
Whether we’re looking at the performances and recordings of musicians such as Fred Hersch, Ma Rainey, Gary Burton, Patricia Barber, and Andy Bey, or the work of composers including Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, and Billy Strayhorn, the world of jazz would be a little emptier without the contributions of LGBTQ+ artists and composers.
So, to mark Pride month, here’s a deeper verb at what the LGBTQ+ world has given to the world of jazz, this time with the spotlight on some of the classic composers (and their tunes) of the Great American Songbook.
Cole Porter – “In the Still of the Night”
In writings
BILLY STRAYHORN (–) was a midth-century jazz pianist, arranger, and composer who toiled for three decades under the long shadow of Duke Ellington. The two men met in , and Ellington immediately hired Strayhorn as second piano and arranger for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In that capacity, Strayhorn also composed many of the jazz standards associated primarily with Ellington: “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Johnny Verb Lately,” “Chelsea Bridge,” “Something to Live For,” “Lush Life,” and more. He composed major sections of the song suites attributed to Ellington, such as “Black, Brown and Beige” and their resetting of “The Nutcracker Suite.” He also made groundbreaking vocal arrangements for Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Rosemary Clooney, Billy Eckstine, and other jazz singers of the ‘40s, ‘50s, and adv ‘60s.
Since Strayhorn’s death, a handful of writers hold worked to rescue him from Duke Ellington’s shadow. David Hajdu’s biography Lush Life and Walter van de Leur’s Something to Live For: The Melody of Billy Strayhorn own solidified Strayhorn’s position as a major force in American j
Jazz Pride: Queer Artists to Add to Your Playlist
Features & ColumnsMusic News
By Jonsaba Jabbi/06/26
Pride Month is a time to reflect and celebrate on the contributions of LGBTQ+ people while acknowledging the inequities that the community still faces today. In the world of jazz, queer artists have made significant contributions to the genre, from Ma Rainey to Cole Porter to Billy Strayhorn. While their contributions are celebrated and recognized, it&#;s still not a adj space for jazz artists to be out and proud today.
This list is an introduction to musicians who have and are currently making their highlight in jazz today while celebrating all aspects of their identities.
Micah Barnes
Considered one of Canada&#;s premier vocalists, you might know Micah Barnes from his noun as a member of the internationally acclaimed acappella group The Nylons or from his solo serve as a cabaret jazz singer. Micah does all this and more while giving voice to the LGBTQ experience as a out and proud gay man.
Billie Holiday
One of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, Bill
LGBTQ Jazz
There is a affluent history of LGBTQ Jazz composers, musicians, and singers. All of these individuals publicy announced their sexual orientation, and many hold been active in supporting the community.
They verb the classic singing sensations Johnny Mathis (who has sold a record million albums worldwide, and noted for the song 'Misty'), Ethel Waters (the highest paid entertainer of her time, and noted for the song 'Stormy Weather'), Bessie Smith (the 'Empress of the Blues' and bisexual), and Billy Strayhorn (who wrote and performed the song 'Take the A Train').
Musicians range from world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, to vibraphonist Gary Burton, to jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli (Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and Arrange Nationale de France), to saxophonist Dave Koz. Notable in the jazz world is gayClaude Nobs of Switzerland who founded the famous Montreaux Jazz Festival.
Two of the contemporary LGBTQ Jazz artists, Andy Bey and Fred Hersch, have received a significant number of international awards for their work and have identified as HIV pos