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Cleo Laine
From her
modest beginnings as a singer in English dance halls, Cleo Laine has gone on to
achieve international fame by continually expanding her talents in a career,
which spans some four decades. She is one of the most celebrated singers of
our time. Cleo commands a dazzling Laine began her musical
career in the early 50's in her native England, where she was born in a
London suburb. Cleo showed early singing talent, which was nurtured by her
Jamaican father, and English mother who sent her to singing and dancing
lessons. However, it wasn't until her mid-twenties that she seriously applied
herself to singing and auditioned for the hugely successful British band led
by the acclaimed John Dankworth. Cleo toured extensively with the band and in
1958, she married Dankworth, which strengthened their bond as personal and
professional collaborators. Together they have toured the world with sold-out
engagements before enthusiastic audiences. In addition to concert appearances,
Cleo has carved a niche as an illustrious actress. Laine's professional
career in the legitimate theatre began in London when she starred in Flesh
to a Tiger, directed by Tony Richardson at the Royal Court Theatre. Her
theatrical credits include A Midsummer Night 's Dream, Valmouth,
Women of Troy and the title role in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. Frequently, she has used her
musical and acting talents to full advantage in a diverse collection of
projects including Showboat and Colette in London's West
End, The Seven Deadly Sins as part of the Edinburgh Festival. In the
U.S. she appeared in A Little Night Music and The Merry Widow. She
originated the role of Princess Puffer in the Broadway hit musical The
Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which she received a Tony nomination and earned a
Theatre World Award as well as a Drama Desk nomination for best actress in a
musical. She also starred in the Houston Ballet's production of Lady in
Waiting, an original opera/ballet composed In 1983 Cleo became the
first British artist to win a coveted Grammy award - Best Female Jazz
Vocalist, for the third of her "live" Carnegie Hall albums, all
recorded at the famous New York auditorium. Ella Fitzgerald, whom Cleo had
befriended many years before on a US tour with husband John Dankworth's big
band, celebrated the occasion by sending Cleo two dozen roses together with a
card reading "Congratulations, gal - and about time too!". She has been a frequent
guest on American television including such specials as "An Evening at
the Boston Pops With Cleo Laine" and "Cleo Laine: Live at
Wolftrap". In addition to her numerous international television
specials, she has also been a featured performer on the classic British
television show 'That Was The Week That Was". In addition to receiving an
honorary Doctor of Music degree from Boston's prestigious Berkley School of
Music and being named, along with her husband John Dankworth, the Variety
Club's "Show Business Personality of the Year," Cleo Laine was
honoured by Queen Elizabeth with an O.B.E. The beginning of this decade has
already brought Cleo new acclaim with a Presidential Lifetime Achievement
Award presented by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers
(NARM), and a Lifetime Achievement Accolade from the British Jazz Awards in
1996.
In the 2006 New Years Honours list, her husband John Dankworth
was made a knight bachelor, becoming Sir John Dankworth. As his wife, she is
entitled to be known as "Lady Dankworth," however, she prefers to use her own professional name. |
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Live Music Magazine 2007 |
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JAZZ TRAIN |
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