Rebecca Parris (born Ruth Blair MacCloskey; December 28, 1951 – June 17, 2018) was an American jazz singer. During her career she appeared with Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Burton, and Dizzy Gillespie. She performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival, and the International Floating Jazz Festival. She won the Boston Music Awards nine times.
Early life Born Ruth Blair MacCloskey in Newton, Massachusetts, Parris was the youngest of three daughters born to musicians Edmund M. MacCloskey and Shirley Robinson, and the niece of vocal coach Blair McCloskey."Obituaries: Shirley MacCloskey; Was organist at Newton church". The Boston Globe. December 8, 1991. p. 111. Retrieved June 11, 2023. She derived her stage names, respectively, from her own nickname, Becky (acquired early in life owing to her perceived resemblance to the title character of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), and from the Cole Porter song "I Love Paris".
Critical reception "I hear a little Carmen McRae when I listen to Rebecca", said Ron DellaChiesa, the jazz disk jockey at WGBH in Boston. "And a little Sarah Vaughan. I think she's on that level".
"Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae were my friends while they were alive, and it was a huge blessing to know them," said Parris. "And being accepted as one of them was huge".
Death On June 17, 2018, Parris died at the age of 66.
Discography YearTitleLabel1984A Passionate FlingShira1990Love Comes and GoesEntertainment Exclusives 1993SpringMusicmasters1994A Beautiful FriendshipAltenburgh 1994It's Another Day with Gary BurtonGRP1998Live at Chan's Shira1999Double Rainbow Shira2001My Foolish HeartKoch2002The Secret of ChristmasShira2007You Don't Know MeSaying It with Jazz
Notes
References
External links Official website