Veteran jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine dies aged 97
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Jazz icon Dame Cleo Laine, remembered for her four-octave range and pioneering legacy, dies at 97.
Jazz Legend Dame Cleo Laine Dies Aged 97
Trailblazing British jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, known for her extraordinary vocal range and genre-defying career, has died at the age of 97.
A Voice Like No Other
Dame Cleo was the first British artist to win a Grammy in a jazz category and performed with legends such as Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles. With her trademark corkscrew hair, striking green eyes and husky contralto voice, she became Britain’s most recognisable jazz singer.
She had a rare four-octave vocal range and was equally at ease performing avant-garde classical pieces or humorous jazz tunes. One critic described her as one of Britain’s greatest contributions to jazz “the other being gin.”
From Southall to Stardom
Born Clementine Dinah Hitching in 1927 in Southall, Middlesex, Laine was the daughter of a Jamaican WWI veteran and a disowned English farmer’s daughter. Despite financial struggles, her parents paid for music lessons, and she began singing at age three.
She worked various jobs during WWII and married young before finally finding her break in 1951, when she auditioned for jazz musician Johnny Dankworth. The band renamed her “Cleo Laine,” and she never looked back.
She and Dankworth married in 1958 and collaborated for decades, both musically and in establishing The Stables arts centre in Buckinghamshire.
A Star of Stage and Studio
Laine was not content with only singing she earned acclaim for acting too, including a standout performance as Julie in the 1971 production of Show Boat. Her albums, such as Shakespeare and All That Jazz, won critical praise, and she became a fixture in both classical and jazz circles.
In 1983, she won a Grammy Award for her live recording at Carnegie Hall. She remains the only artist to have been nominated for Grammys in jazz, classical, and popular music categories.
Lifelong Legacy
Dame Cleo and John Dankworth founded The Stables to nurture music appreciation across genres. It remains a key cultural venue today. Even after Dankworth’s death in 2010 just hours before a joint concert the show went on, and she later released their final collaboration, Jazz Matters.
She continued performing well into her 90s, often alongside her children Jacqui and Alec, and watched proudly as her granddaughter Emily followed in her footsteps.
“I want to keep going unless my voice develops a wobble,” she said in later years. “Singing is the one thing that keeps me going, really.”
Tributes Pour In
The Stables described her as “a remarkable performer loved by audiences worldwide.” Chair David Meadowcroft praised her dedication to music education, while Artistic Director Monica Ferguson said her “unique talent will always be remembered.”
Her death marks the end of a groundbreaking career that reshaped British jazz—and proved that one woman’s voice could bridge cultures, genres, and generations.
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