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https://abc7.com/post/cleo-laine-death-singer-regarded-britains-greatest-jazz-voice-dies-97/17293422/>
'Cleo Laine, whose husky contralto was one of the most distinctive voices in
jazz and who was regarded by many as Britain's greatest contribution to the
quintessentially American music, has died. She was 97.
The Stables, a charity and venue Laine founded with her late jazz musician
husband John Dankworth, said Friday it was "greatly saddened" by the news that
"one of its founders and Life President, Dame Cleo Laine has passed away."
Monica Ferguson, artistic director of The Stables, said Laine "will be greatly
missed, but her unique talent will always be remembered."
Laine's career spanned the Atlantic and crossed genres: She sang the songs of
Kurt Weill, Arnold Schoenberg and Robert Schumann; she acted on stage and on
film, and even played God in a production of Benjamin Britten's "Noye's
Fludde."
Laine's life and art were intimately bound up with band leader Dankworth, who
gave her a job and her stage name in 1951, and married her seven years later.
Both were still performing after their 80th birthdays. Dankworth died in 2010
at 82.
In 1997, Laine became the first British jazz artist to be made a dame, the
female equivalent of a knight.
"It is British jazz that should have received the accolade for its service to
me," she said when the honor was announced. "It has given me a wonderful life,
a successful career and an opportunity to travel the globe doing what I love to
do."'
Via Susan ****
RIP,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
