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Marion Cowings

Jazz singer Marion Cowings is a native New Yorker. His smooth baritone voice and considerable range has been delighting audiences around the world for decades. Mentored by the legendary Jon Hendricks, Cowings is a master of scat and vocal technique. He has appeared at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Blue Note, Village Vanguard, and as well as many prestigious venues abroad. Currently Cowings performs regularly at Small Jazz Club in the West Village.

Cowings grew up in the South Bronx where his father was a merchant and his mother taught public school. He attended Music and Art (now LaGuardia High School), where he was chosen to perform as a solo vocalist with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. In the same year, at the age of fifteen, Cowings discovered the bebop group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. While still in high school, his classmate Eddie Gomez (now a formidable bassist and Bill Evans collaborator) played with Jon Hendricks and spoke highly of Cowings. Hendricks called Cowings and said “I hear you’re doing my stuff…. meet me outside Birdland and we’ll talk.” Soon afterward Hendricks set up Cowings’ first professional engagement at the Randall’s Island Jazz Festival with “Little Pony” Poindextor and the Ike Isaac’s Trio. He also began to understudy Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, and eventually became Dave Lambert’s original replacement.

In 1984 after leading rhythm & blues and rock bands, Cowings teamed up with jazz vocalist Kim Kalesti. Kalesti and Cowings headlined the Berlin Jazz Festival and the Blue Notes in New York and Japan. They starred in Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist and performed hundreds of concerts through the auspices of the Young Audiences in New York City public schools. In addition to recording two albums on the Emarcy Label, they have played with many musicians including Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Gary Bartz, Bobby Watson, Ron Carter, Howard Johnson, and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra (now known as Village Vanguard Orchestra). Together they founded the Vocal Jazz Department at New York University and were adjunct professors for eleven years.

Cowings’ Off-Broadway credits include Forever Swing and Bebop. He was a lead in “Queenie Pie,” a Duke Ellington Opera directed by Mercer Ellington at Lincoln Center. Recently, Marion headlined the Harry Warren Lyrics and Lyricists Program at the 92nd Street Y alongside Margaret Whiting and Mary Cleere Haran. He was also a lead in the hundredth anniversary tribute to Count Basie and Glenn Miller at the Lucille Lortel Theater, both directed by Mercedes Ellington.

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Album Review

Roseanna Vitro: Sing a Song of Bird

Read "Sing a Song of Bird" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Roseanne Vitro is one of those jazz singers who falls into the category of “I recognize the voice, but I just can't seem to place her." She has more than a respectable discography which stretches back to 1982, when she released her debut album Listen Here for the Texas Rose label. Her fall 2021 album, Sing A Song Of Bird, is a combination of abundance of attitude and perseverance, since it is composed of two separate sessions (one recorded in ...

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Catching Up With

Marion Cowings: Hey There

Read "Marion Cowings: Hey There" reviewed by Melanie Futorian


Marion Cowings, is often known as Dave Lambert's replacement in vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, andhas graced many stages internationally and nationally, including the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Blue Note, the Village Vanguard and a myriad more. He can be heard on recordings, radio and television broadcasts, is a winner of the Clio Award and recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and has been a lyricist for composer/producer Quincy Jones, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter, ...

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Recording

Famed Vocalist Roseanna Vitro Releases 'Sing A Song Of Bird Feat. Sheila Jordan, Bob Dorough, Marion Cowings

Famed Vocalist Roseanna Vitro Releases 'Sing A Song Of Bird Feat. Sheila Jordan, Bob Dorough, Marion Cowings

Source: Mouthpiece Music

Vocalist Roseanna Vitro is a favorite among jazz aficionados and musicians alike. That’s why Cedar Walton has said, “Roseanna Vitro, one of my favorite vocalists, sings with a great feeling for jazz. Her readings on major compositions are monumental.” Her outsized talents and passion for the music are matched only by the generosity of her spirit, which shines beautifully on her newest recording Sing a Song of Bird, a celebration of the great and inimitable Charlie Parker. Vitro conceived this ...

Emi Takada
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