FRANKLIN (SOMERSET) — Thomas and Gloria Parker were both in the music business - he was a jazz pianist and composer and she was a singer and dancer. They met while performing in the Catskills and according to their daughter, PJ Parker, it was love at first sight. With that kind of pairing, it came as no surprise that Parker would have musical talent as well. “As soon as I could talk I started to sing,” Parker said.
Today, the Somerset resident is a jazz vocalist who has performed with the likes of Jerry Bruno, Harry Leahy, Gary Mazzaroppi and Roy Cumming. She has also sung with the opening act bands for John Pizzarelli and Harry Connick Jr.
“Jazz is really improvisational,” she said. “It gives me freedom within a structure. I think it would drive me a little nuts to be on Broadway and have to sing the same song the same way every night.”
It was her father's early influence that led Parker to discover Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Tony Bennett. “I've been listening to big band, swing and jazz all my life, so it's kind of natural that I fell into that,” she said.
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