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Ethel Ennis

Baltimore native Ethel Ennis is a national treasure. Critics have hailed her as "the most accomplished singer performing today." That stature was earned by her magnificent voice, her brilliant compositions, her joyful performances and her collaboration with the finest musicians.

Ethel Ennis first won national recognition for her recording "Lullaby for Losers" in 1955. In 1958, she was selected by Benny Goodman as the female vocalist for his all-star band. Later, she was chosen as a featured singer on the Arthur Godfrey Show. After performing at the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival with Billy Taylor, Cozy Cole, and Slam Stewart, she appeared with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra on television's "Bell Telephone Hour." She followed those amazing achievements by wowing them at the Monterey Jazz Festival in duets with Joe Williams. She returned to her hometown to perform in concerts with the Count Basie Band and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. During that same period, she shared the bill with Cab Calloway at Harlem's Apollo Theater and played supper clubs and concert halls all over the country.

In the seventies, she founded the practice of singing the National Anthem a capella at Richard Nixon's 1973 presidential inauguration. She performed at the White House for Jimmy Carter as well. During the period, she became Baltimore's cultural ambassador, singing Chinese folk songs in Baltimore's sister city of Xiamen, China as well as performing in Rotterdam, Germany.

In the 1980's, Ethel opened her own music club, Ethel's Place with her husband, writer Earl Arnett. They presented the world's greatest jazz musicians and broadcast live concerts to national audiences. They sold the club in 1988, each returning full-time to their artistic pursuits.

Frank Sinatra once described her as, "my kind of singer." A Downbeat reviewer once said of Ethel, "her voice runs deep, exuding the personality of a sage who has lived many lives." She is the great sage of jazz and if you can find any one of her two dozen records and singles, you will have added a national treasure to your collection.

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Radio & Podcasts

Bending Towards the Light

Read "Bending Towards the Light" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


This week's episode includes a smattering of old and new holiday songs penned by women, a boatload of new releases from vocalists Alex Pangman, Jim Caruso, Billy Stritch and Klea Blackhurst, Alla Ray, Alison Wedding, pianists Hyuna Park, Simone Baron and Carmen Sandim, trombonist Aubrey Logan and bassist Kristen Korb, plus birthday shout outs to Ethel Ennis (pictured), Judy Barnett, Judy Carmichael, Roberta Gambarini, Holly Cole, Maria Schneider, Leigh Pilzer and Fay Claassen, among others. Playlist Lioness “You ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Movie Songs and Remembering Ethel Ennis

Read "Movie Songs and Remembering Ethel Ennis" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


The final day of station fundraising also included new releases from Mariel Austin, Emmet Cohen, Yelena Eckemoff and The Becoming Quintet with birthday shout outs to Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, Warren Vache, Michel Legrand and Patti Wicks among others. Also women-penned movie songs to honor Oscar Night and remembering Ethel Ennis. Playlist Hal Schaefer and His Orchestra “The Moon Is Blue" from Jazz Goes to the Movies (Fresh Sounds Records) 00:00 Diane Hoffman I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" from ...

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Obituary

Ethel Ennis (1932-2019)

Ethel Ennis (1932-2019)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Ethel Ennis, a female jazz-pop singer with an exceptional vocal range and a warm, seductive style that made listeners feel as if they just kicked off their shoes and extended their legs on a soft sofa, died on February 17. She was 86. There was a hint of Sarah Vaughan in Ennis's voice, but instead of deploying Vaughan's coy phrasing at the end of lyric lines, Ennis played it straight, releasing a warm, elegant vibrato. Starting in 1955, her albums ...

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Recording

Ethel Ennis Sings for Losers

Ethel Ennis Sings for Losers

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

When the 10-inch pop vinyl album expanded to 12 inches in the mid-1950s, the glory days of the vocalist began and lasted until roughly 1965. There were the A-list recording artists such as Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Billie Holiday, Margaret Whiting, Sarah Vaughan, Kay Starr, Dinah Washington, June Christy and many others who had started their careers during the big band era. But there also were dozens of other lesser known singers who had come ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Change Of Scenery /...

Cantaloupe Music
1999

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If Women Ruled The...

Cantaloupe Music
1998

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The Moon Was Yellow...

Cantaloupe Music
1987

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Ethel (Live At The...

Cantaloupe Music
1980

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10 Sides Of Ethel...

Cantaloupe Music
1973

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