Album Notes

People often ask me when it all started. I was 3 and was mesmerized by Betty Boop, by Darla on The Little Rascals, by Shirley Temple, all of whom sang and danced.

Then I grew up and moved to New York City. My childhood role models were replaced by jazz legends, some of whom I got to see up-close in small, intimate clubs.

In New York, I found myself wanting to sing these wonderful jazz standards. Sir Robin Clark sang and played piano at the Harbor View Café, a wonderful restaurant under the Brooklyn Bridge, across from the famous River Cafe, and he was kind enough to ask me to sit in.

I was hooked! There was no turning back. I sang at a couple of other clubs in New York before returning to Greenville, South Carolina. That was in 1991, and now in 2011, I'm more in love with The Great American Songbook than ever.

My commitment to jazz goes to performance, education, preservation, and expansion of the jazz audience.

Spread the jazz!
Jean Calvert
http://www.jeancalvert.com