Rosa King
Encyclopedia
Rosa King was an American
Jazz
and blues
saxophonist/singer who made her fame in Amsterdam
and recorded many albums under a variety of labels.
, Georgia
. Her professional career found her playing with everyone from Ben E. King
and Cab Calloway
to Eric Burdon
and Sly Hampton. Stealing the show at the 1978 North Sea Jazz Festival
during a tenor sax battle with the likes of Stan Getz
did much to catapult her into stardom. She has appeared in Sesame Street
and various European Television shows, as well as the cult film Comeback by Eric Burdon. Many careers were launched in her band, including those of Candy Dulfer
, Saskia Laroo
, and Alex Britti
.
She died from a heart attack in Italy shortly after a televised performance with Alex Britti in Italy in December of 2000.
Though quite the icon in Europe, Rosa had little exposure in America during her life except for a few stints in New York
, where Rosa maintained an apartment for many years (even while living in Amsterdam).
However, the year before her death Rosa returned to her home state of Georgia to play a handful of gigs with fellow Georgians and friends J. Lyon Layden and Eric Layden (guitar and bass respectively), Kristina Train
(vocals and violin), Jeff Evans (drums,)and Dan Walker (keyboards) under the name "Rosa King and The Looters."
That year she also played a huge jazz festival in South Africa and several dates in the Netherlands before her very last performance in Italy
, which was a reunion with her former guitarist Alex Britti in a nationally televised concert with nearly 100,000 people in attendance.
Having suffered several small heart attacks the previous week (which Dutch doctors told her was only indigestion), Rosa was a real trooper and was wheelchaired to the foot of the audience for this last performance. She was pronounced dead within 12 hours after this stellar performance during the year that marked the turn of the new millennium.
A Rosa King Foundation has been established in Holland to help out young female artists, and a memorial concert was conducted at the Melkweg concert house in Amsterdam in order to pay tribute to this amazing artist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
saxophonist/singer who made her fame in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and recorded many albums under a variety of labels.
Career
Rosa was born in MaconMacon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Her professional career found her playing with everyone from Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
and Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
to Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and Sly Hampton. Stealing the show at the 1978 North Sea Jazz Festival
North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
during a tenor sax battle with the likes of Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
did much to catapult her into stardom. She has appeared in Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
and various European Television shows, as well as the cult film Comeback by Eric Burdon. Many careers were launched in her band, including those of Candy Dulfer
Candy Dulfer
Candy Dulfer is a Dutch smooth jazz alto saxophonist who began playing at the age of six. She founded her band, Funky Stuff, when she was fourteen years old. Her debut album Saxuality received a Grammy Award nomination. Dulfer has released nine studio albums, two live albums, and one compilation...
, Saskia Laroo
Saskia Laroo
Saskia Laroo is a Dutch jazz musician who has been dubbed "Lady Miles Davis".Laroo was born in the Jordaan to Amsterdam as the eldest of four daughters. When she was six the family moved to Den Ilp. Laroo went in Zaandam to secondary school. For Den Ilp she played cornet in fanfare orchestra De...
, and Alex Britti
Alex Britti
Alessandro "Alex" Britti is an Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Biography:At the age of 17 he started his first band playing blues at various clubs in Rome, eventually he moved to Milan at the center of the Italian pop scene...
.
She died from a heart attack in Italy shortly after a televised performance with Alex Britti in Italy in December of 2000.
Though quite the icon in Europe, Rosa had little exposure in America during her life except for a few stints in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where Rosa maintained an apartment for many years (even while living in Amsterdam).
However, the year before her death Rosa returned to her home state of Georgia to play a handful of gigs with fellow Georgians and friends J. Lyon Layden and Eric Layden (guitar and bass respectively), Kristina Train
Kristina Train
Kristina Train is an American pop/soul singer and songwriter.-Biography:Train was born in New York City, but was raised in Savannah, Georgia from the age of nine. Her mother, Kathy Beatty, is a schoolteacher in Savannah. Train is an only child...
(vocals and violin), Jeff Evans (drums,)and Dan Walker (keyboards) under the name "Rosa King and The Looters."
That year she also played a huge jazz festival in South Africa and several dates in the Netherlands before her very last performance in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, which was a reunion with her former guitarist Alex Britti in a nationally televised concert with nearly 100,000 people in attendance.
Having suffered several small heart attacks the previous week (which Dutch doctors told her was only indigestion), Rosa was a real trooper and was wheelchaired to the foot of the audience for this last performance. She was pronounced dead within 12 hours after this stellar performance during the year that marked the turn of the new millennium.
A Rosa King Foundation has been established in Holland to help out young female artists, and a memorial concert was conducted at the Melkweg concert house in Amsterdam in order to pay tribute to this amazing artist.