Sad news today - the coolest-of-the-cool jazz vocalist and songwriter Miss Annie Ross has shimmied her way off to that great bebop jam in the sky, four days before what would have been her 90th birthday.
An émigré from Scotland, young Annie emerged from her theatrical upbringing to become a star of that post-War New York jazz zeitgeist as pivotal member of the vocalese trio Lambert, Hendrick and Ross, who collaborated with the likes of Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Carmen McRae and many more legends of the jazz-cabaret scene. Her songs were covered by estimable stars such as Carole King and Bette Midler, and she went on to open her own nightclub in Covent Garden in London, welcoming as performers the likes of Nina Simone, Blossom Dearie, Anita O'Day, Joe Williams and Erroll Garner.
A legend, indeed - not least for this eternal classic:
RIP, Annie Ross (born Annabelle Allan Short, 25th July 1930 – 21st July 2020)
