Mary Ann McCall
Encyclopedia
Mary Ann McCall was a practitioner of both traditional pop music
and vocal jazz
. Along with solo work she sang for Tommy Dorsey
and Woody Herman
's bands. She was briefly married to Al Cohn
. In 1949 she won the Down Beat
Readers Poll for "Girl Singer (With Band)".
Mary Ann never became as commercially successful as her talent might have otherwise allowed. She worked as a bartender in a popular but rather disreputable bar called "the forty-niner" in L.A. (located on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave.) from roughly 1974 to 1976. The bar featured nude-dancers, as well as catering to the gay and lesbian crowd. She often amazed patrons with her singing ability and outgoing personality.
Like many great but not famous jazz musicians, she slowly ended her career by playing jazz in airport bars, notably at LAX.
Traditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
and vocal jazz
Vocal jazz
Jazz singing can be defined by the instrumental approach to the voice, where the singer can match the instruments in their stylistic approach to the lyrics, improvised or otherwise, or through scat singing; that is, the use of nonsensical meaningless non-morphemic syllables to imitate the sound of...
. Along with solo work she sang for Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
's bands. She was briefly married to Al Cohn
Al Cohn
Al Cohn was an American jazz saxophonist and arranger and composer.-Biography:Alvin Gilbert Cohn was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was initially known in the 1940s for playing in Woody Herman's Second Herd as one of the Four Brothers, along with Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Serge Chaloff...
. In 1949 she won the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Readers Poll for "Girl Singer (With Band)".
Mary Ann never became as commercially successful as her talent might have otherwise allowed. She worked as a bartender in a popular but rather disreputable bar called "the forty-niner" in L.A. (located on the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave.) from roughly 1974 to 1976. The bar featured nude-dancers, as well as catering to the gay and lesbian crowd. She often amazed patrons with her singing ability and outgoing personality.
Like many great but not famous jazz musicians, she slowly ended her career by playing jazz in airport bars, notably at LAX.
Discography
- Mary Ann McCall Sings (Discovery RecordsDiscovery RecordsDiscovery Records was a United States-based record label known for its recordings of jazz music.Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx...
, 1950) - Easy Living (Savoy RecordsSavoy RecordsSavoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
, 1957) - Detour to the Moon (Jubilee RecordsJubilee RecordsJubilee Records was a record label specializing in rhythm and blues along with novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. Jerry Blaine became Abramson's partner. Blaine bought out Abramson's half of the company in 1947. The company name was Jay-Gee Recording...
, 1958) - Melancholy Baby (Coral RecordsCoral RecordsCoral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
, 1959)