Patty Waters
Encyclopedia
Patty Waters is a jazz
vocalist, best known for her free jazz
recordings in the 1960s for the ESP-Disk
label. Although she has rarely recorded since then, she is more and more recognized as a vocal innovator whose influence extends beyond jazz
.
Patty Waters was born March 11, 1946 in Iowa
. She started singing semi-professionally in high school. After school she sang for the Jerry Gray Hotel Jazz Band. Her family moved to Denver where she started listening to Billie Holiday
, whose life and singing had a profound influence on her.
In the early 1960s she followed the recommendation of friends to move to New York. Albert Ayler
heard her in a dining club and introduced her to Bernard Stollman
, the owner of the experimental jazz label ESP-Disk
. Her most influential albums, Sings (1965) and College Tour (1966) were made for this label.
Her best known recording is a nearly 14 minute version of the traditional song "Black is the colour of my true love's hair" (from Sings), which is rendered in an intense, haunting, anguished wail.
In the late 1960s, she spent some time in Europe and then left the music world to bring up her son (born in 1969) in California
. Almost 30 years later she recorded the album Love Songs in 1996 and began performing in public again. This included reunion concerts with pianist Burton Greene
at two music festivals in May 2003: Visions Festival in New York and Le Weekend in Stirling
.
In 2004 she released You Thrill Me: A Musical Odyssey, a collection of rare and unissued recordings from the years 1962-1979.
ESP-Disk reissued Sings and College Tour on a single CD (as The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings) in 2006.
and Patti Smith
have both named Patty Waters as an influence.
Rock group Telstar Ponies
covered her song "Moon, don't come up tonight" and one of their songs is called "Patty Waters".
Thurston Moore
of the band Sonic Youth
is also an admirer.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
vocalist, best known for her free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
recordings in the 1960s for the ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record label, founded in 1964 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.From the beginning, the label's goal has been to provide its recording artists with complete artistic freedom, unimpeded by any record company interference or commercial expectations—a philosophy summed-up by the...
label. Although she has rarely recorded since then, she is more and more recognized as a vocal innovator whose influence extends beyond jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
Patty Waters was born March 11, 1946 in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. She started singing semi-professionally in high school. After school she sang for the Jerry Gray Hotel Jazz Band. Her family moved to Denver where she started listening to Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, whose life and singing had a profound influence on her.
In the early 1960s she followed the recommendation of friends to move to New York. Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
heard her in a dining club and introduced her to Bernard Stollman
Bernard Stollman
Bernard Stollman is an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label.He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Plattsburgh, upstate New York, where his parents owned a chain of women's wear stores. When he was 16, his family moved to Forest Hills, Queens, and he...
, the owner of the experimental jazz label ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record label, founded in 1964 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.From the beginning, the label's goal has been to provide its recording artists with complete artistic freedom, unimpeded by any record company interference or commercial expectations—a philosophy summed-up by the...
. Her most influential albums, Sings (1965) and College Tour (1966) were made for this label.
Her best known recording is a nearly 14 minute version of the traditional song "Black is the colour of my true love's hair" (from Sings), which is rendered in an intense, haunting, anguished wail.
In the late 1960s, she spent some time in Europe and then left the music world to bring up her son (born in 1969) in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Almost 30 years later she recorded the album Love Songs in 1996 and began performing in public again. This included reunion concerts with pianist Burton Greene
Burton Greene
Burton Greene is a free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He has explored a variety of genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium.-Biography:...
at two music festivals in May 2003: Visions Festival in New York and Le Weekend in Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
.
In 2004 she released You Thrill Me: A Musical Odyssey, a collection of rare and unissued recordings from the years 1962-1979.
ESP-Disk reissued Sings and College Tour on a single CD (as The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings) in 2006.
Influence
Diamanda GalásDiamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
and Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
have both named Patty Waters as an influence.
Rock group Telstar Ponies
Telstar Ponies
Telstar Ponies are a rock band formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1994. They were signed to Fire Records Their musical style varies considerably but displays obvious influences from Krautrock, folk , and experimental noise.-History:...
covered her song "Moon, don't come up tonight" and one of their songs is called "Patty Waters".
Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
of the band Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
is also an admirer.
Discography
- 1965 Sings [ESP-Disk]
- 1966 College Tour [ESP-Disk]
- 1969 appears on Marzette Watts Ensemble [Savoy]
- 1996 Love Songs [Jazz Focus]
- 2004 You Thrill Me: A Musical Odyssey 1962-1979 [Water]
- 2005 Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe: Live in San Francisco 2002 DBK Works
- 2006 The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings [ESP-Disk]
External links
- ESP-Disk
- What Is the Color When Black is Burned? A Patty Waters Appreciation at Perfect Sound Forever