Felipa Graciela Pérez y Gutiérrez (August 23, 1915 – April 7, 2010),
Accessed April 2010 known by the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

Graciela, was a Cuban 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 (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

Biography

Graciela was born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

Jesús María neighborhood. 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 Frank Grillo (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo; December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) known professionally as Machito (previously as Macho), was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music ...

), who encouraged her to sing. They played alongside Mario Bauzá (originator of the genre of Afro-Cuban Jazz) in the orchestra Machito and the Afro-Cubans. She was summoned to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 from 1946 until its closing in 1966. Besides the Palladium, they would perform at the Royal Roost, Birdland, the Park Palace, the Corso and the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

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 — specifically at the Crescendo nightclub. Graciela and the band were also a favorite of the disc jockey Symphony Sid Torin who had them on his weekly program several times a year. They were also the summer headliners in the Concord Resort Hotel, in the Catskills Mountains, 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 and pulmonary failure. 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