Patti Austin

She crosses all musical genres, has 16 solo albums to her credit, has performed her award nominated hit songs on the Grammys and Oscars -- and as a performer, songwriter and vocalist has a star-studded career that began at the age of four, making her one of the most beloved artists literally the world over. She is Patti Austin -- and this has been another very great year in the life of this extraordinarily talented artist.

She debuted a one-woman show, which she wrote and created, was nominated for yet another Grammy Award for her spectacular recording in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald For Ella, recorded live with the WDR Big Band in Colon, Germany; and co-created the musical extravaganza Beboperella, a modern day music driven ritual, reuniting and fueling the return for the spirits of Bebop, along with the music of Ella Fitzgerald. In conjunction with these two Ella projects, Ms. Austin has been touring the world and was featured in a 60 Minutes Two profile by correspondent Charlie Rose.

Austin, the daughter of a jazz trombonist and goddaughter of musical legends Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington, made her stage debut with Washington at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. During the 70’s she was the undisputed “queen” of the New York jingle session scene. Her voice was heard on literally hundreds of commercials, behind everyone from Paul Simon, Cat Stevens and Joe Cocker to Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross and Diana Ross. At the beginning of the 80’s, Quincy Jones gave Patti exposure to a wider audience through her participation on his best-selling album Stuff Like That and the Grammy-winning classic The Dude. Her debut album for Quincy’s Qwest label included the chart-topping hit “Baby Come To Me,” a now classic duet with James Ingram. The pair reprised their success with the Oscar nominated “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?”

Patti’s initial association with Qwest resulted in the albums Patti Austin, Getting’ Away With Murder (featuring the Jam and Lewis produced R&B smash “The Heat of Heat”)_ and the magnificent David Pack-produced The Real Me. Featuring a powerful collection of pop and jazz standards including “Cry Me A River, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and Mood Indigo”, 1988’s The Real Me remains one of the most popular items in the Austin catalog. Focusing as it does on timeless standards, For Ella could be considered as close to a follow-up recording in its thematic approach as Patti has made since that album’s release.

In 1989 Patti signed with GRP Records, starting a four-year stint with the label with “Christmas Time Is Here” from Happy Anniversary Charlie Brown. Other top-selling recordings followed, including 1991’s Carry On, Love is Gonna Getcha (featuring the across-the-board hit “Through the Test of Time”), That Secret Place and Patti Austin Live (recorded at New York’s Bottom Line) which showcased her more-than-ample standup comedic skills and brilliant impersonations.

In recent years, Patti has performed extensively throughout the Far East, where she is immensely popular. In addition to her international concretizing, Patti has devoted a lot of time performing for AIDS-related organizations and has appeared in several benefit concerts in San Francisco and Los Angeles, titled as “Papillion,” with Asian superstar Francis Yip to educate the Asian Pacific inlander community about hepatitis three. Austin also took part in the ’93 and ’97 “Colors of Christmas” tours with longtime friends and colleagues Peabo Bryson, Roberta Black, James Ingram and Jeffrey Osborne. Frequently seen on television, Patti’s more playful side has been given full vent with guest appearances on shows like Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, The Dr. Ruth Show, Joan Rivers, Arsenio Hall and a guest-starring role on the TV show For your Love.

On the recording front, Patti’s 1998 Concord Jazz Album In and out of Love, spent almost two years on the contemporary jazz charts while 1999’s critically-acclaimed Street of Dreams, included Patti’s timeless renditions of such tunes as “Someone To Watch Over Me,” and “I Only Have Eyes For you.” In 1999 Patti added her vocal magic to Quincy Jones’ From Q With Love Vols. 1&2 albums via the standout cut, “If This Time Is the Last Time” and in 2000, she recorded “On The Way to Love,” a superb Warner Brothers album (produced by Paul Brown).

With live performances of the material on For Ella and Beporella, already confirmed for 2005 and beyond, along with her appearances with symphony orchestras throughout the world, Austin can look at her latest accomplishments with much justifiable pride. For Patti Austin continues to create milestones in an incredible career; a further testament to her status as a member of that rare breed: a true artist whose creativity knows no limits.

Source: http://www.pattiaustin.com

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