Anita O'Day, the last great American female jazz singer from the Swing and Bop eras, passed away Thanksgiving morning at the age of 87.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html

There are a few jazz aficionados on this board who are probably familiar with O'Day's body of work. She was as revered in the jazz world as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Billie Holiday, and gave some of the greatest live performances that are considered legendary.

In today's world, a Mariah Carey or a Madonna will rehearse for months before performing in front of a live audience. Back in the 50's, the great jazz singers simply got up and sang - usually unrehearsed and often with unfamiliar musicians. Here's Anita O'Day's rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown from the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival - improvised and unrehearsed. The woman had some mad skills and some killer pipes.

http://www.anitaoday.com/quicktime/S...0Excrptlrg.mov

O'Day's life story is almost horrific - She ran away from home at 12, she was raped, abused, a drug addict, an alcoholic, and a convicted felon. Yet she survived it all, pulling it together numerous times to emerge back on the stage buoyed by her will to sing right up to the very end. Her last album was released April 2006, marking a career spanning 50 years as a jazz singer. Unfortunately she passed before a documentary movie of her life was completed. I, for one, will be in line to see it when it is released.

http://www.anitaoday.com/

RIP, Anita. You did good.