Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with

Buddy Johnson Woodrow Wilson "Buddy" Johnson (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977) was an American jump blues pianist and bandleader active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister Ella Johnson, most notably " Since I ...

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album ''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...

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Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging so ...

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, and

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.Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed September 2011

Biography

Jones was born in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the S ...

, and raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York. Still in her teens, she joined

's band for a tour although she was not featured on record. Her first recordings—"Salty Papa Blues", "Evil Gal Blues", "Blow Top Blues", and "Long, Long Journey"—were produced by

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 ...

in 1944, placing her in the company of clarinetist

and tenor saxophonist

Georgie Auld Georgie Auld (May 19, 1919 – January 8, 1990) was a jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Early years Auld was born John Altwerger in Toronto, Canada, and moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. Before the family left Canada, Au ...

. In 1947, she recorded and released an early cover version of Leon Rene's "

I Sold My Heart to the Junkman '"I Sold My Heart to the Junkman"' is a 1946 recording by The Basin Street Boys featuring Ormonde Wilson, written by Leon René, under the songwriting pseudonym of Jimmie Thomas. It was released on the Exclusive Records label in 1946. It was cov ...

" (previously released by the Basin Street Boys on Rene's Exclusive label) while at

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

. She performed with the

sextet from 1949 to 1952. She had three

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations: for the ''

Don't Go to Strangers ''Don't Go to Strangers'' is an album recorded in 1960 by jazz vocalist Etta Jones. It was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Overview This was Etta Jones' first album for the independent jazz label Prestige when it was released in 1 ...

'' album in 1960, the ''

Save Your Love for Me Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places *Save (Garonne), a river in southern France *Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique * Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save *Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Govur ...

'' album in 1981, and '' My Buddy'' (dedicated to her first employer,

) in 1998. In 2008 the album ''Don't Go to Strangers'' was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. Following her recordings for Prestige, on which Jones was featured with high-profile arrangers such as

and jazz stars such as

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jaz ...

, and

, she had a musical partnership of more than 30 years with tenor saxophonist

, who received equal billing with her. He also produced her albums and served as her manager after the pair met in one of

Johnny "Hammond" Smith John Robert "Johnny Hammond" Smith (December 16, 1933 – June 4, 1997) was an American soul jazz and hard bop organist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was a renowned player of the Hammond B-3 organ so earning "Hammond" as a nickname, wh ...

's bands. Although Etta Jones is likely to be remembered above all for her recordings on Prestige, her close professional relationship with Person (frequently, but mistakenly, identified as Jones' husband) helped ensure that the last two decades of her life would be marked by uncommon productivity, evidenced by a string of albums for Muse Records. In 1996, she recorded ''The Melody Lingers On'', the first of five sessions for the

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Highn ...

label. Her last recording, a tribute to

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, was released on the day of Jones' death. Only one of her recordings—her debut album for

Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...

(''

'', 1960)—enjoyed commercial success with sales of over 1 million copies. Her remaining seven albums for Prestige, and beginning in 1976, her 12 recordings for

Muse Records Muse Records was a jazz record company and label founded in New York City by Joe Fields (producer), Joe Fields in 1972. Fields worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s. Several of the albums were previously released on Cobbleston ...

, and seven recordings for HighNote Records secured her a devoted following. She died in Mount Vernon, New York at the age of 72 from cancer. She was survived by her husband, John Medlock, and a granddaughter.

Discography

* ''The Jones Girl...Etta...Sings, Sings, Sings'' (King, 1958) * ''

'' (

Prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...

, 1960) * '' Something Nice'' (Prestige, 1961) * '' So Warm: Etta Jones and Strings'' (Prestige, 1961) * '' From the Heart'' (Prestige, 1962) * '' Lonely and Blue'' (Prestige, 1962) * ''

Love Shout ''Love Shout'' is an album by jazz vocalist Etta Jones which was recorded in late 1962 and early 1963 and released on the Prestige label.

'' (Prestige, 1963) * '' Hollar!'' (Prestige, 1963) * ''

Soul Summit Vol. 2 ''Soul Summit Vol 2'' is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons with vocalist Etta Jones and organist Jack McDuff recorded in 1961 and 1962 and released on the Prestige label.Etta Jones Sings'' (Roulette, 1965) * ''Etta Jones '75'' (20th Century/Westbound 1975) * ''

Ms. Jones to You ''Ms. Jones to You'' is an album by vocalist Etta Jones which was recorded in 1976 and released on the Muse label.M ...

'' (Muse, 1976) * '' My Mother's Eyes'' (Muse, 1978) * '' If You Could See Me Now'' (Muse, 1979) * ''

'' (Muse, 1981) * ''Love Me with All Your Heart'' (Muse, 1984) * ''

Fine and Mellow "Fine and Mellow" is a jazz standard written by Billie Holiday, who first recorded it on April 20, 1939 on the Commodore label. It is a blues lamenting the bad treatment of a woman at the hands of "my man". Notable performances and recordings ...

'' (Muse, 1987) * '' I'll Be Seeing You'' (Muse, 1988) * ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

'' (Muse, 1990) * ''

Christmas with Etta Jones ''Christmas with Etta Jones'' is a Christmas album by vocalist Etta Jones which was recorded in 1990 and released on the Muse Records, Muse label.Reverse the Charges ''Reverse the Charges'' is an album by vocalist Etta Jones which was recorded in 1991 and 1992 and released on the Muse label.At Last "At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US ''Billboard'' po ...

'' (Muse, 1995) * ''

My Gentleman Friend ''My Gentleman Friend'' is a 1961 album by Blossom Dearie. Track listing #"Lady, Be Good (musical), Little Jazz Bird" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 3:43 #"Gentleman Friend" (Arnold Horwitt, Arnold B. Horwitt, Richard Lewine) – 3:49 #"It ...

'' (Muse, 1996) * '' The Melody Lingers On'' (

, 1996) * '' My Buddy: Etta Jones Sings the Songs of Buddy Johnson'' (HighNote, 1997) * '' Some of My Best Friends Are...Singers'' with Ray Brown (Telarc, 1998) * ''

All the Way All the Way may refer to: Film and television * ''All the Way'', an Australian film of 1998 directed by Marque Owen * ''All the Way'' (2001 film), a film directed by Shi Runjiu * ''All the Way'' (film), a 2016 adaptation of Robert Schenkkan's p ...

'' (HighNote, 1999) * '' Together at Christmas'' (HighNote, 2000) * '' Easy Living'' (HighNote, 2000) * '' Etta Jones Sings Lady Day'' (HighNote, 2001) * ''Don't Misunderstand: Live in New York'' with Houston Person (HighNote, 2007) * '' The Way We Were: Live in Concert'' with Houston Person (HighNote, 2011)

Guest appearances

With

* '' The Real Thing'' (Eastbound, 1973) * ''

The Lion and His Pride ''The Lion and His Pride'' is an album by saxophonist Houston Person that was released by Muse in 1994. Track listing # " Dig" (Miles Davis) – 9:32 # " I Remember Clifford" (Benny Golson) – 7:33 # " Dear Heart" (Henry Mancini, Ray Evans, ...

'' (Muse, 1994) * '' Christmas with Houston Person and Friends'' (Muse, 1994)

References

External links

* *
Etta Jones Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Etta 1928 births 2001 deaths American jazz singers 20th-century African-American women singers African-American jazz musicians American women jazz singers Jubilee Records artists Muse Records artists Prestige Records artists People from Harlem People from Aiken, South Carolina Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from New York (state) HighNote Records artists