ARTIST PROFILE: Jean Carne
Posted by Radiocafé on 11 Jan 2008 at 7:47 pm |
Category: 4. Soul Sounds
Imagine if your musical résumé included the following: performed with Duke Ellington; sang lead vocals for Earth Wind & Fire and Norman Connors; signed by Motown; sang a duet with Glenn Jones; produced by Gamble and Huff. It’s no understatement to say that Jean Carne deserves to be ranked up there with the greatest female soul singers of all time.
And she continues to share her glorious voice with a devoted following, recently appearing in a short sell-out spell at London’s Jazz cafe, along with fellow soul superstars Shirley Jones and Alyson Williams. Quite some combination!
Jean Carne’s distinctive voice is simply timeless. UK soul devotees will undoubtedly recall many of her fantastic ballads, such as “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head” and “Closer Than Close”. Purists are catered for too, her recordings with the legendary Norman Connors are warm yet powerful and an example of how to produce a love song. Standards? How about her sensational version of the now infamous “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” or of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Dindi”? And for those of you who like to get up and dance, not much beats the feel-good factor that is there in bucketfuls in her 1981 duet with the fantastic Glenn Jones, “Sweet and Wonderful”. In fact, this song title is a perfect description of her voice and the person that she is.
The 1980s were a fantastic era for music, and it’s during the first part of this era that some of our favourite Jean Carne albums were made. The 1982 album “Trust Me” featured a “who’s who” of musicians: the vibes were played by Roy Ayers; on bass was “Ready” Freddie Washington; drums Leon “Ndugu” Chancler; Paul Jackson on guitars; oh, and the percussionists too - Paulinho Da Costa, Norman Connors AND Harvey Mason. And that’s without listing the horns section, which also featured among other leading players Fred Wesley. Wow! Backing vocals came courtesy of The Jones Girls and The Temptations, among others. Few artists have ever commanded such respect and admiration from their peers to be able to draw upon this level of talent.
We also love the 1986 album Closer Than Close, the title track which has become a soul ballad anthem. It should also be noted that she features on not one, but TWO StreetSounds “The Artists” collections - she is far too special to appear just the once.
Therefore, you should feel rightly ashamed if you consider yourself a fan of soul music and you do not have any of Jean Carne’s albums in your collection. The good news is that much of her fantastic material is now available on CD and, from the right source, some are still available for not much more than a fiver. Take a look at the selections to the right and listen for yourself.
So next time you hear someone talk about the leading ladies of soul, such as Aretha, Chaka and Gladys, if Jean isn’t mentioned alongside the others it is the duty of any soul aficionado to correct this omission!
Jean Carne, you are one of the greatest singers to have lived, and we thank you for your fantastic contribution to the world of Real Music.
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Jean Carne is certainly everything that you have written and more. She will be honored at the Smooth Legends of Jazz on Saturday, November 22, 2008 in Norfolk,VA. The venue is The Roper Performing Arts Center, 340 Granby Street. We will have outstanding local performers that will give tribute to the hits that she has had through the years. Carne will be complimented with performances by legendarys Lonnie Liston Smith and Bobby Lyle, along with her performance as well.
What an event!