New York jazz singer Blossom Dearie dies at 82

[tuvor]

Source: CBC

Blossom Dearie, a classically trained pianist who transformed herself into a jazz singer with a unique baby-doll voice heard in New York and London cabarets for three decades, has died at 82.

Dearie died of natural causes Saturday at her Manhattan home, her manager, Donald Schaffer, said. No specific cause of death was given.

"She lived for her music, and she lived to perform her music," Schaffer said. "She had impeccable taste."

Born April 29, 1926, in East Durham, N.Y., Marguerite Blossom Dearie dropped her first name to bolster a musical career that began with early training in piano and moved to jazz vocals. By the mid-1940s, she was a member of the Blue Flames, associated with Woody Herman's orchestra and with the Alvino Rey band.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/02/09/obit-dearie.html

[Seeking Serenity]

1. For those of us my age (40s) and not into jazz,

you'll likely remember Blossom Dearie as the singer on the "Multiplication Rock" song, "Figure 8."

RIP. What a lovely voice.