Annie Ross, Jazz singer extraordinaire, died on July 21st. I don’t see a thread for it, and she certainly deserves one. She was likely best known for her collaboration in the trio of (Dave) Lambert, (Jon) Hendricks and Ross. Ross’s soprano voice could be likened to the sound of a trumpet in the high ranges. Crystal clear and sweet. Sadly, she developed a heroin addiction (and rehab) after leaving the group and went through bankruptcy at one point, but despite that she managed to live to almost 90. So long, beautiful.
She had a lot of albums, but I always think of her mostly in her 60’s work. She was so good in everything she did. And she had the best version of “Twisted” out there (as well as writing the lyrics).
I was unaware of her to be honest, and had vaguely heard of the group, but my wife and I just watched a video of her singing “twisted” and were pretty knocked out. What an amazing voice, one of those classic 50s jazz voices that sounds like she’s singing from the horn section.
I has a sad.
And I want to watch Superman III now.
Got to see her in person with Jon Hendricks, late 90s, Scullers in Cambridge, Mass. What a knockout show. I chatted with them both afterwards and they were very affable. Man, I miss shows like that.
I’ve got her version of “Twisted” in my head permanently. It is one for the ages.
Glad she had a long run; sorry it wasn’t happy all the way through.
She was a lot of fun in Basket Case 2 and 3.
I knew her from Superman III as well. She was evil in that movie!