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Maxine Sullivan


Out2Lunch

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Just listened to two of Maxine Sullivan recordings from her later years and it seems like she mellowed and improved with the passage of time. She was one class act! Anybody have any recommendations regarding her later recordings. I really enjoyed her tributes to the music of Burton Lane and Jule Styne with Keith Ingham.

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Mellowed? She was too mellow in her early career. She really swung in her later years.

There's an excellent documentary about her,

Maxine Sullivan: Love To Be In Love

Description

This video profiles Maxine Sullivan (1911-1987), the legendary jazz singer who rose from humble origins in Pittsburgh to become one of the foremost black vocalists in America. Noted for her swing arrangements of classic ballads, she became known as “The Loch Lomond Girl” after her first big hit in 1937. Sullivan’s reminiscences are highlighted by a wealth of news clippings, photos, Hollywood musical clips, archival footage and testimonials from other jazz luminaries such as Ella Fitzgerald and Marian McPartland.

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  • 8 months later...

BTW, anyone knows if something from nationwide 1939-40 broadcasts survived till nowadays and is issued in CD form?

("Also at the Onyx Club she met her husband, bassist John Kirby, who led his sextet, The Spirits of Rhythm. In 1939, Kirby and Maxine became the first black hosts of a national radio series, Flow Gently, Sweet Rhythm, broadcast every Sunday afternoon on the CBS network for more than a year."

taken from: http://www.riverwalk.org/proglist/showpromo/maxine.htm

or

"In 1940 Sullivan and Kirby were featured on the radio program Flow Gently Sweet Rhythm. They were the first black jazz stars to have their own weekly radio series. Sullivan and Kirby’s last shows together were in the fall of 1941 and were recorded by two different transcription companies, World and Associated." taken from: http://www.swingmusic.net/Sullivan_Maxine.html)

BTW, she probably was a bit mellow in hers early years, but I found it no defect to my ears. While staying sweet at the same time Maxine had that strong jazz component in singing (such as Billie had, and both of those ladies told they don't want to sing songs as written). Billie was (from time to time) a bit bitter, Maxine was sweet, and the life is good.

Two days ago I found two tracks with Maxine singing "Love Me Sooner" and "Sentimental Blue", with Nat King Cole unit behind her. Songs are not so well - it was hell to strugle with bridge part of "Love Me Sooner", but the feeling Maxine adds to them... awesome! Think I "found" my second female singer after the one and only Lady Day. :tup

Edited by mmilovan
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Speaking of mellowness, her first recordings with Claude Thornhill (not exactly the first but little bit after, the one I own is from 1st of March 1938.) included one sensitive, dark, wrapped in silk voice recorded close to the mike.

The arrangement is a bit sweet to my taste (Thornhill arranged THAT?) and despite bunch of excellent musicians (Bobby Hackett, Babe Russin, Thornhill himself at the piano, John Kirby and Buddy Rich), Maxine saved the session from being pop date rather then jazz date.

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BTW, anyone knows if something from nationwide 1939-40 broadcasts survived till nowadays and is issued in CD form?

Milan, check these liner notes for Maxime Sullivan's 'Le Ruban Bleu Years' from BaldwinStreet.

http://www.baldwinstreetmusic.com/nbjh303.html

The last paragraph indicates the label is planning to release pre-194O transcription sides.

Those BaldwinStreet CDs are hard to find around these parts...

Merry Xmas!

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BTW, anyone knows if something from nationwide 1939-40 broadcasts survived till nowadays and is issued in CD form?

Milan, check these liner notes for Maxime Sullivan's 'Le Ruban Bleu Years' from BaldwinStreet.

http://www.baldwinstreetmusic.com/nbjh303.html

The last paragraph indicates the label is planning to release pre-194O transcription sides.

"We are planning to release several more reissue CDs of Maxine's early recordings: first her 1950s recordings including many previously unreleased performances. Then go back to the beginning to cover all of her ARC recordings 1937-1938 with all the available alternate takes and her transcription sides with Benny Goodman and Paul Whiteman. If you have some rare private material of Maxine Sullivan you would like to share, we will appreciate your contacting us."

These are nice words.

BTW, the overall text is good written, except passage I could not agree in total:

"She reaches out to her audience with the words she is singing unlike Billie Holiday, in whose case, singing is more often about herself, her personal pain and anguish, not about the meaning of the song as the composer originally intended. Maxine usually depends on her natural warm personality and delivers her words in her inimitable cool manner and lets the song do the work."

I think Maxine had that emotional quality similar to Billie. Don't know exactly how, but it works for me.

Did Hellen Merill ever listened to Maxine? It can probably be hypotethical statement, but these two ladies were similar to me speaking of color of the voice; in fact, personally I discovered Hellen through Maxine.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...

Now, when my mind and soul are so satisfied, being able to hear Kirby/Sullivan Lang-Worth transcriptions, I must say how great Maxine was... a perfect female singer to my ears.

It is interesting to know what Roy Eldridge said after hers funeral:

"She was a great little singer... up to the last moment. She had a style of singing that nobody could match. It was very subtle, but it was swinging"

Edited by mmilovan
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  • 1 year later...

Speaking of mellowness, her first recordings with Claude Thornhill (not exactly the first but little bit after, the one I own is from 1st of March 1938.) included one sensitive, dark, wrapped in silk voice recorded close to the mike.

The arrangement is a bit sweet to my taste (Thornhill arranged THAT?) and despite bunch of excellent musicians (Bobby Hackett, Babe Russin, Thornhill himself at the piano, John Kirby and Buddy Rich), Maxine saved the session from being pop date rather then jazz date.

I just got a copy of the Classics CD with her earliest sessions. I love her take on the "St. Louis Blues", her recording of which I've been familiar with for many years. Great fills from the band, especially Bobby and the underated Jimmy Lytell.

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Maxine Sullivan... well I don;t know anything about that Razaf tribute disc, but, still that version of "Everytime We Said Goodbye" with Norvo and Teddy Wilson is high on my list of perfect takes. Teddy is doing his famous "downward figure" while backing her vocal.

Oh man, wish I could listen more of that material, not just single 3 minute take...

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