Chris Connor
November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009
| Instrument | voice |
| Birthplace | Kansas City, MO |
Available Leadsheets
- Night Bird - Al Cohn & Kitty Malone Swing (medium)
Chris Connor is considered to be one of the foremost cool jazz vocalists of the 1950s and 1960s. Chris is often listed in a trio among June Christy and Anita O'Day, but she developed a style and popularity of her own throughout her multi-decade career. Chris got her big break when June Christy heard her on the radio in 1953 and recommended her for the coveted female vocalist position in Kenton's band -- Chris's dream job. She stayed with Kenton for 5 months, during which time she recorded one of her signature songs, All About Ronnie. Chris's 12-record association with Atlantic is considered by many to be the peak of her career.
On Atlantic, she collaborated with Ralph Burns, Al Cohn, and Jimmy Jones and featured the likes of Oscar Pettiford, Lucky Thompson, Phil Woods, Kenny Burrell, Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson and Maynard Ferguson’s big band. She stayed active through the turn of the 21st century, recording three albums on HighNote (the last of which was released in 2003) until her death in 2009.