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Cleo Laine

The showroom at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, sparkled brilliantly, the weekend of October 17-19, 2003 with the luminary talent of the legendary British couple, Dame Cleo Laine and John Dankworth. The audience was on the edge of their seats all night with excitement and awe. The jazz composition and sounds that emanated from behind the footlights brought Friday night's audience to their feet as they hailed "The Queen of Jazz," and her professional partner and husband with thunderous applause. The lady next to me smiled with pride, as if the legendary performers were her personal treasure. "I watched you tapping your feet all night, I'm so glad you enjoyed the performance as much as I did! I've been a fan of theirs for years, and you?" "I'm a new fan, and I feel so lucky to be here, wow, what an evening," I enthusiastically replied. The awe and wonder for the evening's incredible jazz experience overwhelmed me. I had never felt such a deep appreciation for being a member of the audience as I did that night. The sounds that emanated from the accomplished jazz duo were only outmatched by the Dankworth quartet of Peter Mcgrop, Gordon Getty, Larry Dunefal, and Sid McKane. The opening number with John on the saxophone set the pace for the evening. There's nothing like a saxophone's soulful sound when it's mixed with the sassiness of a Mozart jazz moment. Their tribute to the great music of Duke Ellington highlighted by the ballad 'Rainbow Corner' was the same that Duke played at Piccadilly Circus to entertain the troops in 1944. Dame Cleo Laine's memory to Ella Fitzgerald, 'I Gotta Crush on You', was a vocal jazz phenomenon in range and rhythm. Being a first time audience member I wondered, "How can she do that with her voice?" She had the most finely tuned instrument on stage! The highlight of the evening for me was the song, 'It Don't Mean a Thing If You Ain't Got that Swing'. Cleo's swing says it all. She is a timeless talent that holds the key to the fountain of youth. Along with this key, in November of 1998, the Queen of England, bestowed the title "Dame", the highest honor and accolade to be given to a woman. It is the feminine equivalent to being knighted. This "Queen of Jazz", is the only singer ever to receive Grammy Award nominations in the Female Jazz, Popular and Classical categories.

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Radio & Podcasts

Halloween Mischief, Spirits and Sweet Stuff

Read "Halloween Mischief, Spirits and Sweet Stuff" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


Our Halloween broadcast is full of musical mischief, spirits and sweet stuff, with new releases from Giacomo Gates, Ayn Inserto, Alyssa Allgood and Vivian Sessoms, plus birthday shout outs to Milton Nascimento, Jazz Master Dianne Reeves, Jay Clayton, Cleo Laine and Andy Bey. Playlist Amanda Monaco “The Mean Reds" from Glitter (Posi-Tone Records) 00:00 Alyssa Allgood “Exactly Like You" from Exactly Like You (Cellar Live) 05:24 Dizzy Gillespie & Roy Eldridge “Pretty Eyed Baby" from Roy and Diz ...

261
Album Review

Cleo Laine: Live in Manhattan

Read "Live in Manhattan" reviewed by Mathew Bahl


Dame Cleo Laine and her husband, reed player John Dankworth, have been working together since the 1950s and have enjoyed a good deal of success in the United States as well as in their native Great Britain. Although Dame Cleo’s career has included stints in the West End and on Broadway as well as dalliances with the classical repertoire, she has generally been classified as a jazz singer.

Live in Manhattan, recorded in 1998, represents the Dankworths third live recording ...

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Event

Cleo Laine at the Leicester Square Theatre (London) on April 16th

Cleo Laine at the Leicester Square Theatre (London) on April 16th

Source: Katie Fish

Cleo Laine at the Art of Song Jazz Festival Cleo Laine will be performing on Saturday, April 16th as the headliner act in the Art of Song festival. http://www.leicestersquaretheatre.com/index.php?pg=1209. Tickets are £30 but if you can get them for £20 when you enter the code 'artofsong' when booking through the Leicester Square Theatre box office. Cleo played last November at the Barbican. Leicester Square Theatre 6 Leicester Place London WC2H 7BX

This concert provides ...

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Performance / Tour

Cleo Laine with John Dankworth Group in Concert at Pepperdine University

Cleo Laine with John Dankworth Group in Concert at Pepperdine University

Source: All About Jazz

Hear the fabulous Cleo Laine with the John Dankworth Group in concert at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

Friday, September 18!

Cleo Laine is a singer who has done just about everything. She's played everywhere - English dance halls to London's Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie to the Blue Note Cafe. She's been on stage, on Broadway, to London's West End, done opera and the BBC.

The London-born Laine can sing opera or jazz with her set of multi-octave pipes. A star ...

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Performance / Tour

Acclaimed British Vocalist at Jazz Alley in Seattle for Four Nights

Acclaimed British Vocalist at Jazz Alley in Seattle for Four Nights

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene

Is there another art form in which longevity offers as many creative dividends as jazz? While the gruesome pantheon of players cut down in their prime dominates the music's mythos, consider the honor roll of remarkably productive autumnal improvisers. Among tenor saxophonists alone, the octogenarian club includes James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Red Holloway, Benny Golson, Von Freeman, Sam Rivers, Frank Foster and Frank Wess. Jazz singers, however, rarely reach their later years with voice intact, which is what makes Cleo ...

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Event

Cleo Laine & John Dankworth To Perform for Boston Area Fundraiser

Cleo Laine & John Dankworth  To Perform for Boston Area Fundraiser

Source: All About Jazz

Jazz Vocalist Cleo Laine and Saxophonist John Dankworth To Appear At The 13th Annual Barry L. Price Center Fundraiser Friday, October 22, 2004 Holiday Inn-Brookline Greater Boston's annual gala for the Barry L. Price Rehabilitation Center will this year feature singer Cleo Laine and saxophonist John Dankworth on Friday, October 22 at the Holiday Inn-Brookline (1200 Beacon Street, Brookline, Massachusetts; wheelchair accessible). This annual evening fundraiser featuring dinner and a gala party ...

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