Terri Quaye, also Theresa (born 8 November 1940, Bodmin, England),

Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Lif ...

"Quaye, Terri (born 1940), singer, pianist, percussionist"
Grove Music Online - ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edition. Published in print January 2002. Published online January 2003 , e-. is an English singer, pianist, songwriter and percussionist. She is the daughter of

Cab Kaye Nii-lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye (3 September 1921 – 13 March 2000), known professionally as Cab Kaye, was an English jazz singer and pianist of Ghanaian descent. He combined blues, stride piano, and scat with his Ghanaian heritage. Youth ...

, older sister of

Caleb Quaye Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with ...

and half-sister of

Finley Quaye Finley Quaye (born 25 March 1974, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish musician. He won the 1997 MOBO Award for best reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best Male Solo Artist. Life Finley Quaye is the son of vaudeville pianist Cab Kaye and t ...

. Her first professional experience came in 1958, singing with a

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, which ...

band led by Ido Martin. She sang accompanied by Colin Purbrook,

Leon Cohen Leon Cohen ( el, Λεών Κοέν; born 15 January 1910 in Thessaloniki, Greece and died in August 1989 in Bat Yam, Israel), was a Jewish-Greek survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. He was a member of the ''Sonderkommando'' in Birkenau ...

, and

Brian Lemon Brian Lemon (11 February 1937 – 11 October 2014) was a British jazz pianist and arranger. Biography Lemon was born in Nottingham, England. After leaving school in the 1950s, he began playing professionally at Nottingham's Palais de Danse and ...

, then did a residency with Frank Holder. In Germany she worked in the group

The Merrymakers The Merrymakers are a Sweden-based music duo composed of Anders Hellgren and David Myhr. Former members are Thomas Nyström, Kenneth Berg, Patrik Bergman and Peter Arffman. Hellgren and Myhr have been making music together since the 1990s. Thei ...

as a conga player and singer, and played with

Carmell Jones Carmell Jones (July 19, 1936 – November 7, 1996) was an American jazz trumpet player. Biography Jones was born in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. He started piano lessons at age five, and trumpet lessons at age seven. His first professional ...

Dave Pike David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as le ...

, and

Leo Wright Leo Wright (December 14, 1933 in Wichita Falls, Texas – January 4, 1991 in Vienna) was an American jazz musician who played alto saxophone, flute and clarinet. He played with Charles Mingus, Booker Ervin, John Hardee, Kenny Burrell, Johnny Co ...

. After a trip to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, the birthplace of her grandfather, musician Caleb Quaye (1895–1922), she received her Ga name: Naa-Koshie. In the 1970s she worked with Manu Dibango,

Syvilla Fort Syvilla Fort (July 3, 1917 – November 8, 1975) was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. Born in Seattle, she drew on her African-American heritage in her original dance works. American composer John Cage wrote his first piece fo ...

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 4 ...

Junie Booth Arthur Edward Booth Jr. (February 12, 1948 – July 11, 2021) was an American jazz bassist. His professional name was Juini Booth, though his nickname has been spelled Jiunie, Junie, Joony, Jooney, Joonie, Juni, Juney, and Junius, over the cours ...

, Richard Davis,

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing). Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, ...

, John Stevens,

Trevor Watts Trevor Charles Watts (born 26 February 1939) is an English jazz and free-improvising alto and soprano saxophonist. Biography Watts was born in York, England. He is largely self-taught, having taken up the cornet at age 12 then switched to s ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

, and Art "Shaki" Lewis. She became more active as an educator and ethnomusicologist in the 1980s, at the Museum of African Art,

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, United States, and 1990s, gaining her master's in ethnomusicology in 1988 from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

."Music - A Way Of Life"
Jazzcocktail. She has also exhibited as an ethnographic photographer. Maplin Art Gallery have her work in their permanent collection. She has done mostly solo piano/vocal work in the 1990s, and opened her own bar in London, Jazzers 1996–99. She is now active within the Unitarian church as a lay preacher. Well known as a percussionist in the 1970s and 80s she now performs as a pianist and vocalist covering jazz standards. She is now based on the South Coast of England and recent performances have included the 2022 Swanage Jazz Festival.

References

External links

"Terri Quaye: Unitarian Lay Preacher & Jazz Musician"
Official website.

Music website.

Ghana Rising, 18 April 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quaye, Terri 1940 births Living people English jazz singers English jazz pianists English women pianists English people of Ghanaian descent Ethnomusicologists Alumni of the University of London People from Bodmin British percussionists 20th-century Black British women singers British women jazz singers 21st-century pianists British women anthropologists 20th-century women pianists