Meet Peggy Lee: Jean Calvert at TEDxGreenville
Channel: TEDx Talks
Date: 15/05/2013

Miss Peggy Lee -- A singer with perfect timing.  A songwriter with clever lyrics.  A willingness to reinvent herself.  An astute businesswoman.  A genius whose music career spanned six decades, even while music underwent its most radical shift in history.

Jean Calvert came out singing and latched on to her childhood idols right away -- Betty Boop, Darla on The Little Rascals, Little Shirley Temple -- all of whom sang and danced.  

"There was lots of music in the house.  Mother would listen to Monty Dupuy's jazz standards on his local radio show.  Daddy enjoyed some jazz and lots of country.  And, of course, the Top 40 hits of the day were my purview."   

Those Top 40 songs inspired Jean to take up guitar and perform those folk rock tunes.  But it was while living in New York City to attend Pratt Institute School of Art and Design that her love of jazz solidified.  Able to see living legends up close and personal, Jean found the music so complex, so captivating, she just had to give it a try at a few restaurants and clubs.  

Jean returned to Greenville in 1991 and has been part of the regional music scene here, as well as traveling back to New York on occasion, last year at the iconic Bitter End in the Village where another performance is slated for this summer.  

"This past year was one of major growth for me, mainly because of the music arranger/director, Dale Burke, and the talented musicians that I have the privilege to work with. 2013 is shaping up to be my best ever, so stay tuned!  And, oh yeah -- SPREAD THE JAZZ!  Connect with me on facebook and twitter.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)