Teri Thornton

about

Teri Thornton’s career as a jazz singer was a notably roller-coaster affair, moving from early struggles to success and back to obscurity again, before enjoying a remarkable final flourish in the last two years of her life. Her final comeback was sparked by winning the vocalist section of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 1998, an honour usually given to young performers. Thornton was already in her early 60s when she took the prize. Her dark, slightly husky voice, emotive delivery and ingrained understanding of the music won over the judges, and her award was quickly followed by a major label recording contract with Verve. Her debut album for the label, I’ll Be Easy To Find, was her first record since the mid-1960s, and was released to great acclaim in 1999, while her live performances in New York confirmed that she was not only back in harness, but was still a jazz singer of the first rank, with a particular flair for expressive interpretations of the blues. Throughout this remarkable comeback, however, Thornton had been suffering from bladder cancer. She was first diagnosed in 1997, but decided to enter the Monk competition in any case, and she was able to enjoy the fruits of her success while in remission. She performed a week long residence at the Village Vanguard in New York as recently as January, but died of complications of the disease. She was born Shirley Enid Avery in Detroit, where he mother was a singer and the director of a l

top songs

albums

I'll Be Easy to Find

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Eternas-The Best Jazz Vocals

Somewhere In The Night (1963)

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Women: "The Best Jazz Vocals" (CD 2)

Devil May Care

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Jazz Divas Gold

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Open Highway

Somewhere in the Night

Sings Open Highway (The Theme from "Route 66") [Expanded Edition]

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The Witching Hour

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Women: The Best Jazz Vocals [Disc 2]

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Women: The Best Jazz Vocals

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