Jump to content

Liz McComb

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Walter Görlitz (talk | contribs) at 17:49, 6 November 2016 (multiple issues). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Liz McComb (born December 1, 1952) is an American gospel and blues singer, songwriter and pianist, who also loves jazz, spiritual and soul music.

Biography

Roots in the home of gospel

The sixth of seven children, Elizabeth McComb grew up in an African-American family that originally came from Mississippi. Her father, a factory worker, died when she was very young. Her mother was very religious, as was the whole family, and she became a preacher and the pastor of a Pentecostal church.[1] Three of her sisters formed a vocal group called The Daughters of Zion, which was very popular in local churches. Many years later, they would sometimes accompany McComb during her concerts. McComb started singing at the early age of three. At home, the children grew up listening to the great gospel singers: The Staple Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and above all, Mahalia Jackson who became McComb's idol and her role model. The young girl learned Jackson's entire repertory by heart. In the meantime, her only brother played jazz trumpet and introduced McComb to the great jazz musicians - Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Max Roach as well as Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan.

McComb began with violin but decided to switch to the piano, an instrument with which her "heartstrings feel perfectly in tune", in her words. She learned to play the piano on her own and one day she decided to take the plunge and replace her pianist at a moment's notice. Gradually, she became one of the best pianist-singers of her generation. While still young, she joined the Karamu House Theater school and then the cultural center's theater company. She also began studying the history and culture of the African-American community. This was the era of the civil rights movement, which deeply impacted her whole life.

Beginnings as a singer

McComb had always been complimented for her voice and she started thinking of maybe becoming a Broadway star. She left for New York and started auditioning for shows and musicals. With the support of her cousin, Annie Moss, she toured in Europe as part of the itinerant "Roots of Rock'n’Roll" show. Thanks to this experience, McComb discovered the major international theaters. While regularly touring in Germany, Spain, France and Switzerland, she was in constant contact with the "greats", doing the first part of their concerts, such as Bessie Griffin, Helen Humes, Luther Allison, B.B. King, James Brown, Ray Charles, Memphis Slim, Taj Mahal, Randy Weston, etc.

The European period

From that period on, she regularly stayed in Europe, traveling back to the United States several times a year. McComb first stayed in Switzerland, where she was a sensation at the Montreux Festival. She then chose Paris as her main place of residence. There she met Maurice Cullaz, a famous jazz critic, who also pioneered Europe's discovery of gospel music. Maurice Cullaz immediately saw in McComb a new potential for this music. After coming to Paris, McComb was part of the "Psalms" quartet, with Jerome Van Jones, Lavelle (Lavelle McKinnie Dugan) and Gregg Hunter.

McComb and the arts

For McComb, music is not just entertainment. Her art stems from her ancestors' experience of slavery and this ties in with the fate of all mankind. She accepts with devotion any tie that links her to people and peoples who suffer. That is why she sang in Lebanon when the war ended. That is why she sang in Bethlehem. That is why she gave a free concert in Gaza. Her sources of inspiration are many. She is passionate about the traditional music and percussion of the Caribbean, particularly Guadeloupe. This was present in her concerts during 2006-2007, and also in her CD trilogy: Soul, Peace & Love. For all these reasons, McComb, in the words of American journalists, has become a beacon of "global gospel" - McComb has become a planetary gospel singer.

Discography

  • Acoustic Woman, 1992, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • Rock my Soul, 1993, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • Live, 1994, (Back to Blues/GVE/licence Sony) distribution EMI
  • Trilogy Coffret 3 CDs, (Back to Blues/GVE) épuisé
  • Time is Now, 1996, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • Live à l'Olympia, 1998, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • Le Meilleur de Liz McComb, 1998, (Back to Blues/GVE/licence TF1 musique)
  • The Spirit of New Orleans, 2001, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • L'Essentiel/FIRE, 2001, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • Soul, Peace & Love, 2007, (Back to Blues/GVE) distribution EMI
  • The Sacred Concert, 19 Mai 2009, (GVE) distribution Naïve

Videography

  • Saint-Augustin – (solo & duo) Paris
  • Olympia – Paris – DVD distribution EMI
  • Vienne Jazz Festival – 1999 and 2002
  • Parc Floral Jazz Festival – Paris
  • Eglise de La Madeleine – Paris 1995 and 1996
  • Basilique Sainte-Clotilde – Paris
  • Eglise des Invalides – Paris
  • Eglise Saint-Sulpice 2002 – Paris
  • Opéra de Lyon 1994
  • Athènes (Acropole)
  • Festival de Fes avec l'ARC gospel choir
  • Vittoria Jazz festival
  • Quai du Blues/Nouvel Obs Event – Paris
  • Bethléem 24-12-99
  • Music Mania with 3 pianos ensemble
  • Palais des Sports de Paris, HD (feb 2007)
  • Festival de Coutances, HD (May 2007)

References

  1. ^ Liz McComb Biography by Linda Seida. allmusic.com 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liz_McComb&oldid=748157114"