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Toni Harper

Toni Harper was an American jazz and pop singer who rose to fame in the 1940s and 1950s. She was born on June 8, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, and began her career as a child performer.

Harper's talent was recognized at an early age, and she was signed to a recording contract with RCA Victor at the age of 13. Her debut album, "Miss Toni Harper," was released in 1955 and featured a mix of jazz and pop standards.

In the late 1950s, Harper began to focus on jazz music and recorded several albums with jazz musicians such as Oscar Peterson and the Joe Masters Trio. She also appeared on television shows such as "The Perry Como Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Harper's career was put on hold in the 1960s when she became a mother, but she returned to performing in the 1970s and continued to record and perform throughout the rest of her career. She released several albums in the 1980s and 1990s, including "Lady Lonely" and "Night Mood."

In addition to her singing career, Harper also appeared in several films, including "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" and "The Tender Trap." She also provided the singing voice for the character of "Betsy" in the 1955 film "Pete Kelly's Blues."

Harper's distinctive voice, which was often compared to that of Lena Horne, and her ability to interpret jazz and pop standards have made her a beloved figure in the music world. Despite facing many challenges as a woman and as an African American in the male-dominated music industry of the 1950s, she persevered and left a lasting legacy as a talented and influential artist.


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Obituary

Toni Harper (1937-2023)

Toni Harper (1937-2023)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Toni Harper, a child singer in Los Angeles in the late 1940s who grew up to become a superb jazz stylist in the mid-1950s and early 1960s, recorded with Oscar Peterson, Buddy Bregman, Marty Paich and many other leading jazz artists only to quit the business at age 29, died on February 10. She was 86. Toni was active into her late years and corresponded with me often by email. She was upbeat, mischievous and remarkably modest. Her first recording ...

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Recording

Toni Harper: Japan, 1963

Toni Harper: Japan, 1963

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

My posts on singer Toni Harper began back in December, after I discovered an obscure album in Oscar Peterson's discography called Toni Harper Sings! (1956). At the end of January, to my great surprise and delight, Toni emailed me and answered many of the questions that I had raised about the Peterson session. [Pictured: An extended play LP released in Japan, courtesy of Makoto Gotoh] Next, readers wondered in the Comments section of these posts about Toni's trip to Japan ...

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Interview

John Levy on Toni Harper

John Levy on Toni Harper

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Last week, singer Toni Harper reflected on the albums she recorded with Oscar Peterson in 1956 and Marty Paich in 1959 and 1960. In 1963 she traveled to Japan with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. John Levy [pictured], Adderley's personal manager at the time, wrote me an email last week about that tour: “Cannonball and his group were contracted to do their first tour of Japan's major cities in 1963. When the Japanese promoters called me to complete the details, they ...

56

Interview

Eyewitness: Toni Harper

Eyewitness: Toni Harper

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Back in December, I wrote about an exceptional album that    teamed an up and coming vocalist with a well-known pianist. The album is Toni Harper Sings, with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Recorded in December 1955, the Verve album was a rare example of Peterson accompanying a singer relatively new to jazz at the time. Questions naturally came to mind: Who was Toni Harper? How did she manage to wind up on such a session? Why did she stop recording in ...

271

Interview

Oscar Peterson and Toni Harper

Oscar Peterson and Toni Harper

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Oscar Peterson accompanied a number of leading jazz singers as the house pianist at Norman Granz's Verve label in the '50s. But one of the finest albums he made in this capacity was for a singer who today is largely unknown. The album was Toni: Toni Harper Sings, and it's positively splendid. Half the album was recorded on December 29, 1955—a day after Peterson recorded with guitarist and trio-mate Herb Ellis on Ellis in Wonderland and a day before Peterson's ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Candy Store Blues

Fonzno Records
1988

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Heavenly Love / What...

Fonzno Records
1961

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Night Mood

Fonzno Records
1960

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Lonely Lady

Fonzno Records
1959

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Toni

Fonzno Records
1956

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We've Got To Live,...

Fonzno Records
1956

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