Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
Singer Marlene VerPlanck has a new album coming—Ballads, Mostly. It's a delicious collection of moody songs with an upbeat feel. Seven of the 15 tracks were arranged by Marlene's late husband, Billy VerPlanck, who died in 2009. Though Marlene spent three decades recording demos and jingles starting in the '60s, she began her professional career in the bands of Charlie Spivak and Tommy Dorsey and recorded many terrific jazz albums over the years.
Marlene also continues to perfom. On Saturday at 1 p.m., she will be singing at the Sheet Music Society of New York City, at 322 W. 48th St., just west of 8th Ave. AFM members are free, $10 for others. She will be joined by pianist, songwriter and singer Ronny Whyte. CDs and sheet music will be available, with all proceeds going to The Cancer Fund. For more information: (212 245-4802). She has an amazing range and often soars in into the high range without fear.
During our recent conversation, Marlene talked about how she got her start and meeting a guy in the street with a glass of milk:
JazzWax: Where did you grow up?
Marlene VerPlanck: I was born in Newark, and we lived there until I was 16. Then my family moved to Bloomfield, N.J., about 15 minutes away. We needed a bigger house for me and my younger brother and sister. We were a very close Italian family. There are 13 of us in my generation, and I still get together with my first cousins.
JW: Was your family musical?
MV: No. My family was in the restaurant business. My grandfather started the biggest Italian restaurant in Newark—Biase’s—and it was around for about 85 years. Originally my grandmother was in the kitchen there. My mother also was a master chef. My favorite recipe of hers was lasagna.
JW: Did you train as a singer?
MV: No. Actually, I didn’t start singing until I was 19 years old. I recorded my first album in 1955, a session for Savoy that Ozzie Cadena produced.
JW: How did you go from no experience to a Savoy record date?
MV: As a kid, my mother always had the radio dial on WNEW in New York, which played big band and pop music. I also used to sing along with records all the time. I used to go down to WNJR in Newark and pull records for Carl Ide, who had a show. I hung out there and one day decided I was going to sing. I never looked back.
JW: You really hadn’t been singing professionally?
MV: Just a little. Before age 19 I had never worked at a club. Then, in the summer of 1955, I began singing at The Well in Caldwell, N.J. I was so young and green. My dad took me to the club and told them he was my agent.
Used with permission by Marc Myers
Read more: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/01/interview-marlene-verplanck.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29
Marlene VerPlanck: I was born in Newark, and we lived there until I was 16. Then my family moved to Bloomfield, N.J., about 15 minutes away. We needed a bigger house for me and my younger brother and sister. We were a very close Italian family. There are 13 of us in my generation, and I still get together with my first cousins.
JW: Was your family musical?
MV: No. My family was in the restaurant business. My grandfather started the biggest Italian restaurant in Newark—Biase’s—and it was around for about 85 years. Originally my grandmother was in the kitchen there. My mother also was a master chef. My favorite recipe of hers was lasagna.
JW: Did you train as a singer?
MV: No. Actually, I didn’t start singing until I was 19 years old. I recorded my first album in 1955, a session for Savoy that Ozzie Cadena produced.
JW: How did you go from no experience to a Savoy record date?
MV: As a kid, my mother always had the radio dial on WNEW in New York, which played big band and pop music. I also used to sing along with records all the time. I used to go down to WNJR in Newark and pull records for Carl Ide, who had a show. I hung out there and one day decided I was going to sing. I never looked back.
JW: You really hadn’t been singing professionally?
MV: Just a little. Before age 19 I had never worked at a club. Then, in the summer of 1955, I began singing at The Well in Caldwell, N.J. I was so young and green. My dad took me to the club and told them he was my agent.
Used with permission by Marc Myers
Read more: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/01/interview-marlene-verplanck.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29
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