Maxine Sullivan

A precursor to better-known later vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Sullivan is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s. Singer Peggy Lee named Sullivan as a key influence in several interviews.

• Name — Maxine Sullivan • Birth Name — Marietta Williams • Born — 13 May 1911 • Birthplace — Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 7 April 1987 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Genre — Vocal jazz, swing • Occupation — Singer • Years Active — 1930s–1970s • Label — Monmouth Evergreen, Riff, Kenneth, Stash, Atlantic, Concord

Sullivan began her music career singing in her uncle's band, The Red Hot Peppers, in her native Pennsylvania, in which she occasionally played the flugelhorn and the valve trombone, in addition to singing. In the mid 1930s, she was discovered by Gladys Mosier (then working in Ina Ray Hutton's big band). Mosier introduced her to pianist Claude Thornhill, which led to her first recordings made in June 1937. Shortly thereafter, Sullivan became a featured vocalist at the Onyx Club in New York City. During this period, she began forming a professional and close personal relationship with bassist John Kirby, who became her second husband in 1938. • Illustration — Sullivan at the Village Vanguard, New York City, in 1947 Early sessions with Kirby in 1937 yielded a hit recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond" featuring Sullivan on vocals. This early success "branded" Sullivan's style, leading her to sing similar swing arrangements of traditional folk tunes mostly arranged by Thornhill, such as "If I Had a Ribbon Bow" and "I Dream of Jeanie". Her early popularity also led to a brief appearance in the 1938 film Going Places with Louis Armstrong. In 1940, Sullivan and Kirby were featured on the radio program Flow Gently Sweet Rhythm, making them the first black jazz stars to have their own weekly radio series. During the 1940s, Sullivan then performed with a wide range of bands, including her husband's sextet and groups headed by Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, and Jimmie Lunceford. Sullivan performed at many of New York's hottest jazz spots such as the Ruban Bleu, the Village Vanguard, the Blue Angel, and the Penthouse. In 1949, Sullivan appeared on the short-lived CBS Television series Uptown Jubilee, and in 1953 starred in the play, Take a Giant Step. In 1956, Sullivan shifted from her earlier style and recorded the album A Tribute to Andy Razaf; originally on the Period record label, the album featured Sullivan's interpretations of a dozen tunes using Andy Razaf's lyrics. The album also highlighted the music of Fats Waller, including versions of "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now", "How Can You Face Me?", "My Fate Is in Your Hands", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'", and "Blue Turning Grey Over You". Sullivan was joined by a sextet that was reminiscent of Kirby's group fifteen years prior, including trumpeter Charlie Shavers and clarinetist Buster Bailey. In 1958, she was one of those photographed for the iconic photograph A Great Day in Harlem. From 1958, Sullivan worked as a nurse before resuming her musical career in 1966, performing in jazz festivals alongside her fourth husband Cliff Jackson, who can be heard on the 1966 live recording of Sullivan's performance at the Manassas Jazz Festival. Sullivan continued to perform throughout the 1970s and made a string of recordings during the 1980s, despite being over 70 years old. She was nominated for the 1979 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (won by Carlin Glynn) for her role in My Old Friends, and participated in the film biography Maxine Sullivan: Love to Be in Love, shortly before her death.

Sullivan married four times; her second husband was the band leader John Kirby (married 1938, divorced 1941), while her fourth husband, whom she married in 1950, was the stride pianist Cliff Jackson, who died in 1970. She had two children, Orville Williams (b. 1928) and Paula Morris (b. 1945).

Sullivan died aged 75 in 1987 in New York City, after suffering a seizure. She was posthumously inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998.

• Bobby Hackett, Live from Manassas (Fat Cat's Jazz) • World's Greatest Jazz Band of Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, On Tour II (World Jazz, 1977) • Charlie Shavers, The Complete Charlie Shavers with Maxine Sullivan (Bethlehem, 1957)

• 1939 – Swingin' the Dream • 1953 – Take a Giant Step • 1954 – Flight From Fear (directed by Powell Lindsay, a play about the numbers racket) • 1979 – My Old Friends

Maxine Sullivan is recorded as singer, actor, jazz singer and musician. Recorded at birth as Marietta Williams. The authorities additionally record the heading Marietta Williams.