A powerful and sensitive jazz song stylist, singer Carmen McRae got her start as a piano player and songwriter ("Dream of Life") in the 1940s, gradually expanding her circle of influence throughout the '50s as a vocalist with Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, and Benny Carter. Though limited technically, her dramatic and nuanced readings of jazz standards placed her at the forefront of a group of peers that included Betty Carter and Nancy Wilson. McRae died in 1994, leaving a legacy of classic recordings.


















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