Blossom Dearie

As a kid my earliest music video memories are of Schoolhouse Rock, a series of educational shorts that used songs to grab a generation's attention and educate them on multiplication tables, U.S. history, and grammar rules. To my young ears she was simply the unknown winsome voice singing "Unpack Your Adjectives" and "Figure Eight".

When I started doing song research for my own shows one artist's catalog grabbed my attention: Blossom Dearie. She is perhaps not as well known in mainstream circles as she should be, given her body of work as a composer and artist, and the fact that Miles Davis once said about her, "She's the only white woman who ever had soul". In any case, I got CDs of her albums that I could find. When I went on my first visit to NYC to figure out how to live there, I was thrilled to see that she was doing a weekly show at Danny's Skylight Room. Ticket prices were a bit dear, but my best girlfriend and I - both music geeks - plunked down the plastic to go see our idol perform (after scoring front row seats of course).

Ms. Dearie was lovely, witty, still played a mean piano, and led her trio with skill and artistry. And when she did her second song,a ballad, it was so sublimely beautiful that it reduced my girlfriend and i to weeping. We had been so riveted by Ms. Dearie's performance that at the end of the song we turned to look at each other, saw the tears streaming down each others' faces, and - of course - burst into giddy laughter. Blossom was our Beatles that day. The band laughed at us and thought we were nuts, but we dug the show anyhow.

We got some hilariously dorky snapshots with her also - after five moves I don't know where those are, but after this news I definitely will dig in the boxes in the garage and find them.

here is her Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blossom_Dearie

In her obituary they say she stopped performing three years ago due to health concerns. We saw her in April of 2003 and I am SO glad we spent the money and time that afternoon.

I'm attaching a track that I think is my favorite song of hers. It not only showcases her delicate strength as a vocalist, but also her command of the piano. The lyric is also beautiful, as it emphasizes an optimistic and hopeful view of love and opportunity despite a history of heartbreak. I listen to this song often and marvel at the hope and light in her voice.