McRae Carmen, *8 April 1922 New York, †10 November 1994 Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), American jazz singer, pianist, composer. She learned to play the piano. In 1939, she gained success as a singer in a young talent competition in Harlem, and also as a composer, thanks to Billie Holiday’s recording of her song Dream of Life. McRae made her debut with Benny Carter’s big band in 1940, then sang with the orchestra of E. “Fatha” Hines, Count Basie, and Mercer Ellington (1946–1947). For several years she performed in jazz clubs in New York as a singing pianist, and from 1954 as a solo vocalist, accompanied by the trio of pianist Norman Simmons from 1961–1969. She collaborated with, e.g., D. Brubeck, later with the Clarke-Boland big band. During this period, she recorded several dozen albums, including Bittersweet. Women Talk, The Great American Songbook, Carmen Sings Monk. In 1967, she moved to Beverly Hills and performed in clubs in Los Angeles and Hollywood. McRae took part in many jazz festivals in North America (in Newport and Monterey in 1956–1958), Europe, and Japan. In 1991, she ended her musical activities due to health reasons. McRae, although clearly influenced by B. Holiday, developed her own style characterised by an easily recognizable rough sound. She achieved rhythmic originality by operating only with changes of tempo and density of texture.
