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Cleo Laine

Cleo Laine

Clementina Dinah Campbell was born on 28 October 1927 in a London suburb, Southall. Her father, Alec Campbell, was from Jamaica. He came to Europe to fight in World War One and afterwards settled in England where he met and married Minnie Hitchin, an English woman. Her parents recognized her talent early on and sent her to singing and dancing lessons from the time she was quite young. She went to school on Featherstone Road. Her musical progress was interrupted by World War Two. Cleo got married quite young and had a son, Stuart. Thus her early marriage put an end to her dreams of a singing career. She helped support her young family by apprenticing as a hairdresser and she also worked as a librarian.

Her love for music won her over and she started to commit herself fully to music when she reached her mid-twenties. She auditioned successfully for Johnny Dankworth Seven, which at that time was the best British jazz band. It was led by musician John Dankworth who took her under his wings. He managed their band and thereby her career. Her acclaimed recording of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" was one of the first ever made of the song, and such performances quickly brought her to the top of British jazz popularity polls.

Cleo also at this time enjoyed a celebrated career in the popular music world, as well as appearing frequently as an actress, but her love of jazz and the inherent jazz dialect of her style have never strayed far from the surface for long. She continued to perform for the Johnny Dankworth Seven until 1958, when the two finally decided to get married. They have two children together, Alec Dankworth and Jacqui Dankworth. Both would later follow in their parents footsteps and chose careers as musicians.After Cleo was married to John she took up acting to complement her illustrious music career. She soon landed the lead role in a new play at London's Royal Court Theatre, which at that time was the home of a new wave of playwrights such as John Osborne and Harold Pinter. This led to other stage performances such as the musical "Valmouth" in 1959.

In 1959 Cleo accompanied her husband to the United States where he toured. Although she was not officially part of the set, she appeared with the Dankworth band's at Birdland. In the audience was Ella Fitzgerald. This chance meeting began a a lasting friendship between the two singers. Over twenty years later Ella sent Cleo a bouquet of roses on the occasion of Cleo's first jazz "Grammy" victory. "Congratulations, gal" said the card "- it's about time!"

Soon she had two spectacular recording successes. "You'll Answer to Me" which reached the British Top Ten at the precise time that Cleo was the acclaimed 'prima donna' in the 1961 Edinburgh Festival production. There she performed in the modern Kurt Weill opera/ballet "The Seven Deadly Sins". In 1962 she performed in the play "A Time to Laugh," with Robert Morley and Ruth Gordon.

In 1964 her "Shakespeare and All that Jazz" album received widespread critical acclaim, and to this day remains an important milestone in her identification with the more unusual aspects of a singer's repertoire. Her performance received a five-star review in Down Beat magazine and her "Live at the London Palladium" album with Dankworth was amongst many others acclaimed by critics. Around this time, the London Times unequivocally pronounced her "the best singer in the world".

She lived with her husband, John Dankworth in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire, where in 1969 they founded their first charity, The Wavendon Allmusic Plan, with the aim of helping people broaden their views about music through performance and musical education. In the converted stable block in the grounds of their home they established an arts centre that has since become internationally renowned. The Stables, Wavendon has been host to many world famous artistes, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, George Shearing, and some of today's top professional musicians and singers have benefited from its education projects in the early stages of their careers.

In 1971 she won critical acclaim as "Julie" in the WendyToye production of "Showboat" at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971.

1972 marked the start of Cleo's international activities, with a triumphant first tour of Australia. In 1972 Cleo's first New York concert drew enthusiastic reviews. "The British ... have been hiding one of their national treasures" exclaimed John Wilson in The New York Times. The Coast-to-coast tours of the U.S. and Canada followed with many television appearances. During that year Cleo published a number of record albums including An Evening with Cleo Laine and the John Dankworth Quartet, Sepia Feel the Warm, Showboat (single LP) EMI-Columbia, Showboat (double LP)

In 1973 EMI published This is Cleo Laine, RCA published I Am A Song and Day by Day was published by Stanyan. This was also the year when Cleo first appeared at Carnegie Hall.

Cleo Laine turned out an amazing body of works in 1974 including Live at Carnegie Hall, Close-Up, Pierrot Lunaire (Schoenberg) Ives Songs, A Beautiful Thing (with James Galway), Easy Living (anthology of Fontana tracks), Spotlight on Cleo Laine (double LP), Cleo's Choice, Cleo's Choice (abridged issue on Quintessence Jazz) - Quintessence, In 1974 she was invited back and they recorded the album "Live at Carnegie Hall" which went on to become the first of several "Grammy" nominations for Cleo.

In 1975 she recorded The Unbelievable Miss Cleo Laine, Born on a Friday, Close-Up. In 1976 she recorded Live at the Wavendon Festival, Porgy & Bess (with Ray Charles), and Return to Carnegie, Best Friends (with John Williams).

Since those early trans-Atlantic days Cleo Laine has appeared repeatedly in almost every major city in the United States. She has also made frequent world-wide tours taking in Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bermuda, Iceland, Israel and many European countries. Cleo's records continue to be distributed worldwide. Cleo Laine who was a true supporter of art education appeared in many TV interviews including The Muppet Show in 1977. In 1977 she recorded Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz in the '70's, 20 Famous Show Hits, The Sly Cormorant (read by Cleo and Brian Patten) - Argo, and Romantic Cleo. In 1978 she recorded Showbiz Personalities of 1977, The Early Years, Gonna Get Through, A Lover & His Lass, Treasure, (double LP) and in 1979 she closed out the decade with One More Day and The Cleo Laine Collection (double LP).

In 1979 Cleo received an OBE from Her Majesty the Queen for services to music.

The 80s were another very busy decade for this formidable singer. In 1980 she recorded Cleo's Choice, Collette (original cast), Sometimes When We Touch (with James Galway), and The Incomparable. In 1981 she followed with One More Day, in 1982 with Smilin' Through (with Dudley Moore).

Cleo's received her first Grammy award, in recognition of the live recording of her 1983 Carnegie concert. Other important recordings during that time were duet albums with Ray Charles ("Porgy and Bess") and Mel Tormé, as well as Arnold Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire" which won Cleo a classical Grammy nomination. Cleo's relationship with the musical theatre, started in Britain, continued in the United States with starring performances in "A Little Night Music" and "The Merry Widow" (Michigan Opera). 1983 with Platinum Collection (double LP), Magenta, and Off the Record. In 1984 she recorded Let the Music Take You (w/ John Williams). and in 1985 Cleo at Carnegie - the 10th Anniversary Concert, That Old Feeling, "Johnny Dankworth and his Orchestra. In 1985 she also originated the role of Princess Puffer in the Broadway hit musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", for which she received a Tony nomination.

In 1986 she again collaborated with her husband in The John Dankworth 7 - featuring Cleo Laine", Wordsongs, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unforgettable - 16 Golden Classics, Cleo Laine, and The Essential Collection. 1987 she created Unforgettable and Classic Gershwin (1 track on this CD -- Embraceable You)

1988 she created Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim and EMI reissued Showboat with the original 1972 cast, Cleo Laine & John Dankworth - Shakespeare and All That Jazz.

In 1989 she started her Woman to Woman show and had it recorded by RCE. Jazz, and Portrait of a Song Stylist by Harmony. In 1989 she also received the Los Angeles critics' acclaim for her portrayal of the Witch in Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods".

Her 1990 "Woman to Woman" album merited "five stars out of a possible four" according to the US magazine Jazz Times. Los Angeles was also the scene of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Cleo by the US recording industry in 1991.She recorded Young At Heart, Spotlight on Cleo Laine, Pachelbel's Greatest Hits (1 track) and The album "Jazz" reached number five in the US jazz radio play charts, and "Nothing without You", a duet compilation with Mel Tormé, reached the Billboard Top Ten in 1992, remaining in the charts for several months.

In May 1992 Laine appeared with Frank Sinatra for a week of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London. She told a reporter in 2007: "I was very impressed with his singing, to me he sounded even better in those concerts than he did on the records. It was a real thrill to be part of his show."

Cleo Laine's continued activity in the world of jazz performance, and the quality and depth which those performances continue to show, make her a strong contender indeed for the world title of "a first lady of jazz". Other important recordings during that time were duet albums with Ray Charles (Porgy and Bess) and Mel Tormé (see Nothing Without You), as well as Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire which won Laine a classical Grammy nomination. She recorded On the Town (1 track) and I Am a Song in 1994, Blue and Sentimental in 1995, and Solitude and The Very Best of Cleo Laine in 1997.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 1997 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire. In October 1997 Cleo's second book, You Can Sing If You Want To, was published by Victor Gollancz. In 1998 the Worshipful Company of Musicians awarded her their Silver Medal for a Lifetime Contribution to British Jazz, and the British Jazz Awards have recognised her a number of times.

After that she continued to be prolific with Mad About the Boy, Ridin' High (Early Sessions), Trav'lin' Light: The Johnny Mercer Songbook (1 track), and Let's Be Frank (1 track) in 1998. She ended the decade with The Collection, Sondheim Tonight - Live From the Barbican (1 track), The Best of Cleo Laine, The Silver Anniversary Concert (Carnegie Hall, Limited Edition) and Christmas at the Stables in 1999.

Cleo Laine is a singer who has done just about everything. She's played everywhere - English dance halls to London's Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie to the Blue Note Cafe. She's been on stage, on Broadway, to London's West End, done opera and the BBC. "One of the best singers in the world…" Newsweek

Having realized their original vision, Dame Cleo and her husband decided in 1999 to set up a further charity. The Wavendon Foundation was formed with the objective of raising funds to benefit both individual young artistes in need of financial aid, and organisations seeking support for music education projects. A major activity of the trust is the annual Wavendon Garden Season, a programme of summer events staged under a purpose-built canopy in the Dankworths' garden. Cleo continues to tour the world with her artistry, and this trend shows no sign of abating. Neither does the career of this unusual and superlative artist.

With the aid of an Arts Council lottery grant the new Stables theatre, built adjacent to the original stable block, opened its doors in October 2000 and continues to provide performers, students and audience alike with a center of musical excellence second to none. The organization, administered by a board of honorary trustees that includes Dame Cleo and included John Dankworth, currently produces an annual programme featuring nearly 200 concerts and 300 education sessions. Still she took time out to record Quintessential Cleo and Live in Manhattan during 2001.

British Jazz Awards have recognized Dame Cleo Laine a number of times and in 2002 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She recorded Quality Time in 2002 and Loesser Genius on Qnote in 2003. Whether interpreting a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets set to music, appearing in Jazz Festivals, operas, or singing with Symphony orchestras and big bands, Cleo Laine is consistently finding new forums for her considerable range of talents.

In the 2006 New Years Honours list, her husband John Dankworth was made a knight bachelor, becoming Sir John Dankworth.

On October 28, 2007, Laine turned 80. She marked her birthday with a series of special concerts in the UK, including an appearance with the John Dankworth sextet at Birmingham Town Hall on December 18. She said of her milestone birthday: " I don't think about being 80. What would be the point? I'm limping a bit because they've given me a new knee, but that's about the only difference. I don't want to start thinking about what I should or shouldn't be doing at my age. It's not right."

In 2008 John Dankworth and Cleo Laine won the prestigious Gold Award at the BBC Jazz Awards. The couple got a standing ovation for the vivacity of their performance with Guy Barker's powerful specially-assembled big band at the finale of the award ceremony.

A New York critic wrote of Laine and Dankworth's September 2008 engagement at Blue Note: "Dankworth’s alto sax and clarinet sound as gossamer as ever, while Laine’s voice remains a wonder of agility and plummy richness. After 57 years of dual music-making (and 50 of marriage), the Dankworths can anticipate one another’s every move; they make a stage seem as comfortable as their living room."

This restless star never slows down and now can be followed on facebook which or you can still enjoy her performances with the next coming up in the UK on February 6, 2010 at The Stables 40th Anniversary Celebrations John Dankworth, Cleo Laine & Friends 13 Pinner Parish Church, Pinner, Middlesex JD5 and March 13, 2010 at Watermill Jazz, Menuhin Hall, Cobham, Surrey JD5.

Sadly John Dankworth passed away on February 6th, 2010. Dame Cleo Laine carried on with the concert - and only toward the middle of the concert told the audience of the passing of her husband. Cleo Laine is not only a Dame - she is truly a lady with a capital "L." She told the audience that she thought she could honor the spirit of her wonderfuly husband best by performing.