Janet Lorraine Thurlow (May 21, 1926 – October 4, 2022) was an American jazz singer.

Biography

Early life

Thurlow was born on May 21, 1926, in Seattle – the first of five children. She took violin, piano, and singing lessons as a teenager. As a child, she sang on the ''

Major Bowes Amateur Hour The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...

'' hosted by

Major Edward Bowes Edward Bowes (June 14, 1874 – June 13, 1946), professionally known as Major Edward Bowes, was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s whose ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was the best-known amateur talent show on radio during its 18 ...

. She attended Broadway High School in Seattle, but had to drop out after ninth grade to care for her siblings after her parents' divorce. A few years later, Thurlow moved into her own apartment after her mother's death, befriended a young

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, and began cultivating an appreciation of jazz as well as

jazz singing Vocal jazz or jazz singing is an approach to jazz using the voice. Vocal jazz emerged in the early twentieth century, with its roots in Blues. Popular blues singers such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey had a great deal of influence of jazz vocalis ...

. In 1949, she began as a "song stylist" with

Robert "Bumps" Blackwell Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (May 23, 1918 – March 9, 1985) was an American bandleader, songwriter, arrangement, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hit record, hits of Little Richard, as wel ...

's Seattle-based band, which at that time had a 16-year old

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

as arranger and trumpet player and Ray Charles, then known as "R.C.", playing piano and alto sax.

Lionel Hampton Orchestra

In 1950,

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

hired her to play with his band. Thurlow convinced Hampton to hire her friend Quincy Jones as a trumpeter. In the April 1951, Thurlow recorded the song "I Can't Believe You're in Love with Me" with Hampton's orchestra for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. wrote that this recording made "her perhaps the first white singer to front an all-Black

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

." In August 1951, Thurlow performed with Hampton's orchestra at the Paramount Theater in Hollywood. At the end of that month, they performed at the

Trianon Ballroom The Trianon Ballroom was the name given to a number of ballrooms in cities during America's big-band era. The first and most prominent Trianon opened December 6, 1922 in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, and was marketed as "The Wor ...

in Seattle that featured Jones and Thurlow as "Two Seattleites". That same year, Thurlow met trombonist

Jimmy Cleveland James Milton Cleveland (May 3, 1926 – August 23, 2008) was an American jazz trombonist born in Wartrace, Tennessee.

, a fellow band member with Hampton's orchestra. They married on April 2, 1953 in Chicago.

After Hampton

In November 1952, Thurlow converted to the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. By April 1953, Thurlow had left Hampton's orchestra and was performing solo in Chicago. On October 28, 1953, she was the vocalist on , a song about interracial romance written by

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

, and recorded with . Thurlow during this time began to volunteer as a violinist at Jehovah's Witnesses' regional conventions at New York's

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, Philadelphia's

Connie Mack Stadium Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, ...

, and Los Angeles'

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

Later life

Thurlow and her husband moved in 1967 from New York to

Lynwood, California Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the central portion of the Los Angeles ...

. Thurlow began teaching vocal music but did not begin to perform jazz again until 1983, when she began occasional performing and recording with Cleveland until her husband's death in 2008. Thurlow died of heart failure, aged 96, at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood in 2022. She was buried beside her husband at

Riverside National Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers , making it the largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration ...

References

External links

* *, sung with the Charles Mingus Octet *, sung with the Charles Mingus Octet {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurlow, Janet 1926 births 2022 deaths American women jazz singers American jazz singers American women music educators People from Lynwood, California Musicians from Seattle Burials at Riverside National Cemetery