CLEA BRADFORD her point of view LP

I went looking for a 45 by Clea Bradford and found her record instead one day on a short road trip. the little known jazz singer . Clea Bradford, a statuesque beauty of Choctaw and Ethiopian origin, began her career in St. Louis, Mo, where she often worked with the Quartette Très Bien. Exuberant jazz and blues vocalist who had series of good albums released in the 1960′s, she enjoyed some success with Cadet in late 1960′s, though these were more soul-oriented records arranged by Richard Evans. She had more straight jazz sessions with Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson and others on the Prestige, Mainstream, Tru-Sound and Hi-Q labels. That’s the opening cut on the album. It’s a fine piece, but the album reveals that Ms. Bradford was a Jazz singer first and foremost. The rest of her album is Jazz standards such as Summertime and other MOR pieces.

As a vocalist, she was noted for her articulation, impeccable sense of timing, idiosyncratic phrasing, and heartfelt, emotional renderings of her material. A stickler for details, she demanded perfection from both herself and her supporting cast. “She was an enormous talent and darling of critics. Although Clea Bradford was best recognized and greatly esteemed as a songstress in this improvisational realm of music, she was also equally adept at tackling a wide range of genres, including blues (a big fan of Jimmy Reed), pop, and soul. And this eclecticism and versatility was mirrored in her real life, as she was a Renaissance woman of sorts—a world class chef (her culinary skills were documented in the Washington Star), a formidable painter, social activist, and composer, even penning blues numbers like “One Sided Love Affair” and “I’ve Found My Peace of Mind” for famed guitarist Pee Wee Crayton.

Onstage she was an indelible, conspicuous figure--tall (at 5ft11in.), willowy, elegant, and gorgeous, with high cheekbones and straight black hair, the latter two traits directly attributable to both her mother (of Choctaw, Ethiopian, and Creole descent) and father (of Cherokee ancestry). In fact, throughout her life, her Native American roots were always a source of pride and she relished any opportunity to display her sundry authentic Indian garb. In fact, when her father died in 1967, she sang at his funeral dressed in full regalia. Recently, she formally changed her last name to Bradford-Silverlight out of deference to her forebears.

Clea Bradford, passed away August 19 2008 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, succumbing to complications from breast cancer. She had been in ill health of late suffering as well a series of strokes. She was 75.