Marlena Shaw

• Genre: Soul Jazz
• Hometown: Valhalla
• Marlena Shaw Website

About

Marlena Shaw, like Nancy Wilson and Lou Rawls, is an R&B-influenced jazz singer with the ability to adapt to pop, Disco, and Soul. This meant that she was able to survive the '60s and '70s better than many of her equally talented contemporaries, but it also means that Shaw had to record plenty of camp classics like the title tune to "Last Tango in Paris" before being able to return to what she does best. Like the recently reinvigorated Rawls, Shaw has found a way to mix standards and blues numbers into a very satisfying set. If you are into the retro Blaxploitation movement, you'll want such '70s Blue Note releases as Who Is This Bitch, Anyway?. Those who don't turn the word "pimp" into a verb should head straight for her current work on the Concord Jazz label.

- Nick Dedina