Knew the voice, but didn’t recognize the tiny woman singing. I was watching a TV special devoted to Ella Fitzgerald and I was listening to Patti Austin! She lost an enormous amount of weight, but, thankfully, she didn’t lose her voice and was great as usual.
She started singing at age 4 and had both Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington for God parents. She has good genes – and it shows. (Ms Washington was one of my mom’s favorites: “What a difference a day makes. 24 little hours…”)
Ms. Austin knows how to interpret a lyric. Whether jazz, pop or old standards, she doesn’t just sing a pretty tune, but tells a story and makes the listener care. She is still marvelous.
Patti Austin * Recent CDs:
“Baby Come To Me”, “Avant Gershwin”, “For Ella”
She has always been a wonderful and remarkable talent, but sometimes over looked.
Patti Austin did an amazing series of concerts with the German WDR Big Band earlier this year that were also broadcast on radio and as a live stream on the Internet.
I was lucky to be in the audience for one of them and catch another one online. She really is the heir apparant for the great American songbook.