Marlena Shaw

A charismatic and versatile jazz vocalist, Marlena Shaw's performances were marked by an artful blend of pop standards and straight-ahead jazz tunes. Her extroverted stage presence gave her an edge over other vocalists, and singing live before an audience was where she felt most comfortable. After her uncle Jimmy Burgess introduced her to the recordings of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, she caught the jazz bug and purchased records by Al Hibbler, a vocalist who had a big influence on her singing style. When she was ten, she performed at Harlem's Apollo Theater, and despite ...