{{Short description|American jazz musician and vocalist (1925–2013)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Carline Ray | image = | image_size = | landscape = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1925|4|21}} | birth_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2013|7|18|1925|4|21}} | death_place = Manhattan | genre = Jazz | occupation = Musician, singer | instrument = Piano, guitar | years_active = | label = | associated_acts = International Sweethearts of Rhythm }}
'''Carline Ray''' (April 21, 1925 – July 18, 2013) was a jazz instrumentalist and vocalist. She was a member of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
==Early life and education == Carline Ray was born in Manhattan on April 21, 1925. Her father was Elisha Ray, a horn player.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |last=Rye |first=Howard |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |year=2006 |title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=4th |volume=6 |chapter=Ray (Russell), Carline |isbn=9780195313734 |oclc=70062973 |editor-link=Colin Larkin |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J673500}}</ref>
She entered Juilliard at age 16, graduating in 1946 after studying piano and composition. She earned a master's degree in voice from the Manhattan School of Music in 1956.<ref name="Scott" />
== Career == After graduation from Juilliard, Ray joined the International Sweethearts of Rhythm as a rhythm guitar player and vocalist.<ref name="Yardley">{{cite news |last=Yardley |first=William |date=July 27, 2013 |title=Carline Ray, an Enduring Pioneer Woman of Jazz, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/arts/music/carline-ray-an-enduring-pioneer-woman-of-jazz-dies-at-88.html?_r=1 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 8, 2020}}</ref> After the Sweethearts disbanded, Ray played guitar and sang for Erskine Hawkins and later performed in a trio with fellow former Sweetheart Pauline Braddy.<ref name="Larkin"/> She sang back up for Patti Page and Bobby Darrin, and she performed in choruses conducted by Leonard Bernstein.<ref name="Yardley"/> She recorded with Mary Lou Williams and also worked with Skitch Henderson, Marian McPartland, and Sy Oliver.<ref name="Kernfeld">{{cite book |last=Rye |first=Howard |editor-last=Kernfeld |editor-first=Barry Dean |year=2002 |title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz |location=New York |publisher=Grove |edition=2nd |volume=2 |chapter=Ray, Carline |isbn=9781561592845 |oclc=46956628 |editor-link=Barry Kernfeld |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J673500}}</ref> In 1997, Ray formed the group Jazzberry Jam with pianist Bertha Hope and percussionist Paula Hampton.
She appears in the 2011 documentary film ''The Girls in the Band''.<ref name="Tamarkin" /> She released ''Vocal Sides'', her first album as a lead singer, the year of her death. The album was produced by her daughter Catherine.<ref name="Tamarkin">{{cite magazine |last=Tamarkin |first=Jeff |date=July 19, 2013 |title=Carline Ray, Singer and Instrumentalist, Dies at 88 |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/tributes-and-obituaries/carline-ray-singer-and-instrumentalist-dies-at-88/ |magazine=JazzTimes |publisher=Madavor Media |access-date=February 8, 2020}}</ref>
== Personal life == Ray married Luis Russell in 1956. Their daughter Catherine Russell is a jazz singer.<ref name="Tamarkin" />
== Death == Ray died on July 18, 2013, in Manhattan, following complications from a stroke.<ref name="Yardley"/><ref name="AM">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/carline-ray-mn0000935074/biography |title=Biography: Carline Ray |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=AllMusic |access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref> A Catholic,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simmermacher |first=Gunther |date=2013-08-18 |title=Setting faith to music |url=https://www.scross.co.za/2013/08/setting-faith-to-music/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=The Southern Cross |language=en-GB}}</ref> she was buried in November 2013 after a funeral service at St Peter's Catholic Church in Manhattan.<ref name="Scott">{{cite news |last=Scott |first=Ron |date=July 29, 2013 |title=Jazz Notes: Multi-instrumentalist and jazz activist Carline Ray dies at 88 |url=https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2013/07/29/jazz-notes-multi-instrumentalist-and-jazz-activist/ |work=New York Amsterdam News |access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Jazz-Memorial-for-Carline-Ray-to-Be-Held-at-Saint-Peters-Church-1118-20131112 |title=Jazz Memorial for Carline Ray to Be Held at Saint Peter's Church, 11/18 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=November 12, 2013 |website=Broadway World |access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref>
==Awards== * Co-recipient of the first International Women In Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award, "A Living Legend" (1996)<ref name="IWF"/> * Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival Award (2005)<ref name="Tamarkin"/> * International Women In Jazz Award (2008)<ref name="IWF">{{cite web |url=http://www.internationalwomeninjazz.org/awards.html |title=Awards |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2018 |website=International Women in Jazz |access-date=February 8, 2020 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626082617/http://www.internationalwomeninjazz.org/awards.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080719121451/http://jazzberryjam.com/bio/carlineray.html Jazzberry Jam biography] * {{AllMusic |id=mn0000935074 |title=Carline Ray}} * {{Discogs artist}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBQ0W_jkADE Video of Ray performing at Women In Jazz Festival] in New York City in 2008 * [https://womenshistory.si.edu/spotlight/international-sweethearts-of-rhythm International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection Spotlight, Because of Her Story, Smithsonian Institution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711112542/https://womenshistory.si.edu/spotlight/international-sweethearts-of-rhythm |date=July 11, 2022 }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Carline}} Category:Women jazz guitarists Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:American women jazz singers Category:American jazz singers Category:1925 births Category:2013 deaths Category:International Sweethearts of Rhythm members Category:20th-century American women singers Category:21st-century American women singers Category:20th-century American women guitarists Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:20th-century American singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:African-American guitarists Category:21st-century African-American women singers Category:African-American Catholics Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Manhattan School of Music alumni Category:African-American women guitarists