Graciela (August 23, 1915 – April 7, 2010)
Accessed April 2010 was a Cuban-born American singer of Cuban music and

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

Biography

Felipa Graciela Pérez y Gutiérrez was born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and raised in the

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural ele ...

Jesús María neighborhood. A pioneer in music as a black Cuban woman in a so-called man's world, she opened doors for all those who followed her. Graciela was the lead vocalist over a period of 10 years in the 1930s and '40s with Orquesta Anacaona, an all-female ensemble, before leaving Cuba for the United States. She performed around the world, recording and sharing the stage with her adoptive older brother, Frank Grillo (known as

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

), who encouraged her to sing. They played alongside

Mario Bauzá Prudencio Mario Bauzá Cárdenas (April 28, 1911 – July 11, 1993) was an Afro-Cuban jazz, Latin, and jazz musician. He was among the first to introduce Cuban music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles to the New York City jaz ...

(originator of the genre of

Afro-Cuban Jazz Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm.{{cite web, Cuba: Son and Afro-Cuban ...

) in the orchestra Machito and the Afro-Cubans. Graciela was known for her tremendous voice, risqué and sassy stage presence and sexy double entendre lyrics. She could sing a smoking

guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical thea ...

as easily as handling the most romantic

boleros Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

. Though her last names were Pérez Gutiérrez, she was known by just one name, Graciela. She was summoned to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1943 by Mario Bauzá, when Machito was drafted into the army. She joined the orchestra as lead singer until Machito returned in 1944 and from then on the three shared the stage together until their split in 1975. For thirty-two years, they traveled the United States and the rest of the world and performed at the

Palladium Ballroom The Palladium Ballroom was a New York City night club. The US mambo craze that started in 1948 began at the Palladium Ballroom. On March 15, 1946, it opened at the northeast corner of Broadway and 53rd Street.''New York Post'', March 14, 1946; p ...

from 1946 until its closing in 1966. Besides the Palladium, they would perform at the

Royal Roost The Royal Roost was a jazz club located at 1580 Broadway in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. History Ralph Watkins originally opened the Royal Roost as a chicken restaurant. After a difficult start, Watkins was persuaded by Sid ...

, Birdland, the Park Palace, the Corso and the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

on a yearly week-long gig — and many other clubs and theaters in New York. Graciela and the orchestra also performed on a yearly basis in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

— specifically at the Crescendo nightclub. Graciela and the band were also a favorite of the disc jockey

Symphony Sid Sid Torin (born Sidney Tarnopol, December 14, 1909 – September 14, 1984), known professionally as "Symphony Sid", was a long-time jazz disc jockey in the United States. Many critics have credited him with introducing bebop to a mass audience. E ...

Torin who had them on his weekly program several times a year. They were also the summer headliners in the

Concord Resort Hotel The Concord Resort Hotel (pronounced KAHN-cord, ()) was a resort in the Borscht Belt of the Catskills, known for its large resort industry in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Located in Kiamesha Lake, New York (state), New York, United States, the Conc ...

, in the

Catskills Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

, for more than twenty years. They recorded albums in which her best-known recordings include "Esta es Graciela", "Íntimo y Sentimental" and "Esa Soy Yo, Yo Soy Así". In 2006, she was honored with the Latin Jazz USA Chico O'Farrill Lifetime Achievement Award. When she died in New York in 2010 at the age of 94, she was considered "The First Lady of Latin Jazz."

Death

Felipa Graciela Pérez y Gutiérrez died at the age of 94 at New York Cornell-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City at 7:58 am, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. She had

renal The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and

pulmonary failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

. She was cremated as per her wishes.

Discography

* 1952 - ''Arthur Murray mambo - ¿Dónde estabas tú?'' - Graciela con Machito y su Orquesta Afro-Cubana * 1961 - ''Machito at the Crescendo'' - Machito & His Famous Orchestra, featuring Graciela * 1962 - ''World's Greatest Latin Band'' - Machito & His Famous Orchestra, featuring Graciela * 1963 - ''Esta es Graciela'' - Graciela con Machito y su Orquesta * 1965 - ''Íntimo y sentimental'' - Graciela con Machito y su Orquesta * 1972 - ''Eso soy yo, Yo soy así'' - Graciela * 1976 - ''La Botánica'' - Graciela y Mario * 1999 - ''Sí sí no no'' - Graciela y Mike Young * 2000 - ''Cubop City'' - Graciela con Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Howard McGhee, Brew Moore, Flip Phillips * 2004 - ''Inolvidable'' - Candido & Graciela

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graciela 1915 births 2010 deaths American women singers American jazz musicians American jazz singers Cuban emigrants to the United States Deaths from kidney failure Latin jazz musicians Singers from New York City Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Jazz musicians from New York (state) Women in Latin music 21st-century American women