Billie Holiday, Anita O’Day, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. Early in their careers, they were “canaries” – women singing with the great Big Bands of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, and others.
But these women were birds of a feather in more ways than one. They didn’t let bandleaders define them and they all went on to soloist careers.
After debuting at NYC’s Birdland Club to three nights of sold out shows, Jazz at the Ballroom is presenting “Flying High: Big Band Canaries Who Soared” in the Bay Area this June. It’s a revue of the music made famous by jazz canaries once they spread their wings!
