JAYNE CORTEZ
Genres: Eclectic Fusion, Vocal Jazz • United States

Jayne Cortez wrote and spoke with an uncompromising intensity all her own. Acerbic, hard-hitting, unsentimental, and scathingly honest, she had a take on reality so potent -- and even pungent -- that many poets may seem benign or even superficial by comparison. The musicians with whom she aligned herself over the years invariably reflected and underscored the sociopolitical and cultural elements to which she attached the greatest importance. Born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona in 1936, she grew up near Los Angeles under the spell of her parents' jazz and blues record collection, which also included examples of Latin American dance bands and field recordings of indigenous tribal American music. Early exposure to the recordings of Bessie Smith instilled a deeply etched sense of female identity which, combined with a strong will, shaped her into an uncommonly outspoken individual. She became transformed by the sounds of Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie read more...