Myrna Hague, known as 'Jamaica's First Lady of Jazz', is a Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

n lovers rock

Lovers rock

Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...

 and jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 singer and actress, who recorded for Coxsone Dodd

Coxsone Dodd

Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...

's Studio One.

Biography

Hague's career began in the mid-1960s. She performed at jazz venues in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and recorded for Studio One, notably the Melody Life album. Melody Life included some of her most popular singles, including the title track, "How Could I Live", and "First Cut Is The Deepest".

Hague is a member of the board of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), and a former tutor at the Jamaica School of Music. She won the Caribbean Broadcasting Union Song Festival in 1990, and has won the Jamaica Music Industry Award for jazz several times as well as the Jamaica Federation of Musicians Award and Special Merit Award in 1993. She is often referred to as 'Jamaica's First Lady of jazz'.

Hague founded the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival with her husband, jazz musician Sonny Bradshaw

Sonny Bradshaw

Cecil "Sonny" Bradshaw C.D. , known as the "dean of Jamaican music", and the "musician's musician", was a Jamaican bandleader, trumpeter, broadcaster, and promoter who was a major figure in Jamaican music for more than sixty years.-Biography:Bradshaw was born in 1926 in Kingston, the only child of...

.

In 2004, Hague was diagnosed with breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

, but after a long course of treatment made a full recovery.

She has toured internationally, recently as guest vocalist with Jazz Jamaica

Jazz Jamaica

Jazz Jamaica is a jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London.-History:In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, original Jazz Warrior, jazz double bassist, and nephew of veteran Jamaican guitarist Ernest...

, and as part of Women In Jazz and the Jamaica Big Band.

Singles

• "A Song I'd Like To Sing" (1970) Faze Four
• "Best Thing That Ever Happened"
• "First Cut Is The Deepest"
• "For All We Know"
• "How Could I Live"
• "Melody Life"
• "Never Never"
• "On A Clear Day" (1971) Faze Four
• "Our Day Will Come"
• "That's What Friends Are For"
• "Time After Time" (1971) Faze Four
• "Touch Me Baby" Studio One
• "What About Me" (1976) Studio One
• "What Colour Is Love"

Compilation appearances

• "What About Me" on Feel Like Jumping (2000) Heartbeat
  Heartbeat Records
  Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington , Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of Linton Kwesi Johnson's Dread Beat an' Blood...
  
  
• "Touch Me Baby" on Studio One Lovers (2005) Soul Jazz
  Soul jazz
  Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
  
  

External links

• Myrna Hague at Roots Archives
• Myrna Hague at Last.fm
• Edwards, Michael A (2008) "Musical treats aplenty at Jazz on the Green", Jamaica Observer, 19 February 2008