[Dixielandjazz] Carline Ray Dies at 88 (New York Times)

[Robert Ringwald]

Carline Ray, an Enduring Pioneer Woman of Jazz, Dies at 88
by William Yardley
New York Times, July 28, 2013
Carline Ray, a pioneering jazz instrumentalist and vocalist who joined the all-female
International Sweethearts of Rhythm in the 1940s, later performed with Erskine Hawkins
and Mary Lou Williams and this year released her first recording as a lead vocalist,
died on July 18 in Manhattan. She was 88.
The cause was complications of a stroke, said her daughter, the jazz singer Catherine
Russell.
In an era when female jazz musicians were rare, Ms. Ray was often the only woman
in the band in a career that spanned seven decades and multiple instruments and genres,
from calypso to choral works.
"She always made a point of saying she wasn't a female musician," Ms. Russell recalled.
"She was a musician who happened to be female."
Her mother was proud but also felt a constant need to prove herself in a world dominated
by men.
"She would never let anybody help her with her amplifier or her bass," Ms. Russell
said.
Ms. Ray started her career surrounded by female musicians, though, as a member of
a later incarnation of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an integrated, all-female
group that first formed in the 1930s at a Mississippi school for poor black children.
Ms. Ray had just graduated from Juilliard, in 1946, when she joined the Sweethearts,
playing rhythm guitar and singing. A few years later she joined the band led by Mr.
Hawkins, singing but also playing rhythm guitar. Later, when she married the bandleader
Luis Russell, who had helped organize a group led by Louis Armstrong, she insisted
that she continue performing, and she did.
Mr. Russell died, in 1963, when Catherine was 7. Ms. Ray kept playing, taking her
daughter to recording sessions and performances. She spent decades as a session musician,
playing an electric Fender bass at studios in midtown. She sang classical choral
works, including performances of Christmas music conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
She sang backup on recordings for Patti Page, Bobby Darin and other performers.
Ms. Ray often sang and played bass with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, including
in its 1971 production of "Mary Lou's Mass," by Ms. Williams, the pianist and composer.
She also performed with big bands led by Sy Oliver and Skitch Henderson and, when
it was under the direction of Mercer Ellington, the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In
1980, she received a grant to study the upright acoustic bass, with Major Holley.
When interest in female performers began increasing in the late 1970s, Ms. Ray became
a regular performer at women's jazz festivals, and later in life she was a mentor
to younger female musicians, including the bassists Nicki Parrott and Mimi Jones.
She also played in touring and educational groups featuring female musicians, including
Jazzberry Jam.
"She wasn't out there waving the flag saying 'I'm a woman in jazz,'" Sally Placksin,
the author of "American Women in Jazz," said in an interview this week. "She was
just always out there playing."
Carline Ray was born on April 21, 1925, in Manhattan. Her father, Elisha Ray, was
a horn player who graduated from Juilliard the year she was born. He had played with
James Reese Europe and had offers for more musical work but, seeking steady income
for his new family, he took a job with the post office not long after he graduated.
Ms. Ray entered Juilliard at 16 and stayed five years, after changing her major from
piano to composition. In 1956 she received a masters degree from the Manhattan School
of Music.
In addition to her daughter, Ms. Ray is survived by a sister, Irma Sloan.
Ms. Russell spent several years working with her to choose songs and arrangements
for "Vocal Sides," her mother's first recording as a lead vocalist.
"Her aim was not to be a front person," Ms. Russell said. "She used to tell me that
she wanted to be a part of something bigger."
-30-



-Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
916/ 806-9551

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base." --Dave Barry