Jeanne Trevor
{{Short description|St. Louis jazz vocalist (1937 or 1938–2022)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Jeanne Trevor
| image = Jeanne Trevor, Black Horse, Gaslight Square.jpg
| caption = Trevor performing at the Black Horse Pub in 1964; photograph by Thelma Blumberg
| birth_date = 1937 or 1938
| birth_place = New York City, US
| death_date = {{death date|2022|10|24}} (aged 84)
| death_place = Ferguson, Missouri, US
| genre = {{hlist|Jazz|opera| gospel| R&B}}
| label = Gaslight Records, Norman Records, Mainstream Records, Catalyst Productions, ei Productions
| past_member_of = St. Louis Jazz Quartet
}}
Jeanne Trevor (1937 or 1938 – October 24, 2022) was an American vocalist known as the "First Lady of St. Louis Jazz". Originally from Harlem, New York City, she moved to St. Louis in the early 1960s to perform in the nascent Gaslight Square district. She became a prominent figure in Gaslight, playing most of its top jazz clubs. In the 1970s she was a member of the internationally touring St. Louis Jazz Quartet. Best known as a jazz vocalist, she preferred not to describe herself as one; her other influences included opera, gospel, and R&B. She died in Ferguson, Missouri, at the age of 84. She remained relatively unknown outside of St. Louis.
Biography
Trevor was born in Harlem, near the edge of its Hispanic quarter.{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Stefene |date=January 24, 2008 |title=In Living Memory |url=https://www.stlmag.com/In-Living-Memory/ |access-date=August 30, 2024 |website=St. Louis Magazine |language=en-us}}{{Efn|Dennis Owsley claims she was originally from New Jersey; however, this is not supported elsewhere.:80}} Her father was a singer and guitarist originally from Richmond, Virginia. She heard a wide variety of music at the Apollo Theater as a child during the venue's famed Amateur Night. After graduating high school, she moved to California with her family and majored in drama at Los Angeles City College, working as a secretary to pay for her education. She first sang professionally in San Francisco and Los Angeles.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/november-14-2022-gohlbc/ |title=Living St. Louis {{!}} November 14, 2022 |date=November 14, 2022 |type=Television production |language=en |publisher=PBS |time=21:00 |access-date=August 30, 2024 |via=}}
Trevor had a minor role in The Oregon Trail (1959).
Trevor's family again moved to St. Louis in the early 1960s on the suggestion of a friend of her cousin. During her time in Gaslight Square, she performed at locations including the Black Horse Pub, Vanity Fair, Le Jazz Hot, and the Crystal Palace; she also recorded singles for Norman Wienstroer's labels Norman and Gaslight Records.{{Cite book |last1=Pick |first1=Steve |title=St. Louis sound: An illustrated timeline |last2=Doyle |first2=Amanda |date=2017 |publisher=Reedy Press, LLC |isbn=978-1-68106-116-0 |location=St. Louis, MO |page=54}}{{Cite book |last=Crone |first=Thomas |title=Gaslight Square: An oral history |date=2004 |publisher=William and Joseph Press |isbn=978-0-9723990-2-9 |edition= |location=St. Louis |pages=56–58}} She was posthumously labeled a "giant" of the short-lived entertainment district.{{Cite web |last=Holleman |first=Joe |date=November 1, 2022 |title=St. Louis loses jazz giants Jeanne Trevor and Dave Venn |url=https://www.stltoday.com/life-entertainment/local/music/st-louis-loses-jazz-giants-jeanne-trevor-and-dave-venn/article_34da821d-e64f-5749-839f-b0cff65df6f9.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 30, 2024 |website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |language=en}}
File:Pow! jeannie trevor sings front.jpg
In 1965, Trevor recorded the album Pow! Jeannie [
In 1967, Trevor became a DJ at then-radio station KADI.{{Cite AV media |url=https://hecmedia.org/posts/jeanne-trevor-jazz-singer |title=Jeanne Trevor-Jazz Singer |date=August 16, 2020 |type=Television production |publisher=HEC-TV |time= |access-date=October 27, 2024}}
In 1969 and throughout the 1970s, Trevor was a member of the St. Louis Jazz Quartet, which visited Australia, Alaska, Senegal, and Turin and performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The group recorded a self-titled album for ei Productions in 1972.:93
In 1999, Trevor recorded the album Love You Madly for Catalyst Productions, featuring saxophonist Willie Akins. It featured songs from a range of genres, including jazz, blues, bossa nova, and gospel.{{Cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Randall |last2=Perkins |first2=Terry |last3=Durchholz |first3=Daniel |date=April 28, 1999 |title=Listening Post |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/music/listening-post-2476480 |access-date=August 30, 2024 |website=Riverfront Times |language=en}}:130
Trevor continued to perform locally in St. Louis well into her old age. She appeared in 22 musical productions at The Muny from 1986 to 2011. She had heart disease later in life due to secondhand smoke exposure, eventually requiring bypass surgery. She died in a Ferguson hospital on October 24, 2022, at the age of 84.
Influences
Though she was known as the "First Lady of St. Louis Jazz", Trevor preferred not to call herself a jazz vocalist, describing herself instead as a "modern American singer" and a "musical actor". She had originally wanted to become an opera singer, but failed to find opportunities in the US due to her race. She cited Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald as influences.
Awards and honors
Trevor received a Lifetime Achievement Award at Grand Center's Sixth Annual Visionary Awards in 2008.{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2008 |title=Grand Center's Visionary Awards honors seven St. Louis women |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/03/10/daily30.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 30, 2024 |website=St. Louis Business Journal}} She received an Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts at the 2009 St. Louis Arts Awards, which are sponsored by the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis.{{Cite web |last=Minderman |first=Dean |date=January 17, 2009 |title=Jazz news: Jeanne Trevor to Receive St. Louis Arts Award |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/jeanne-trevor-to-receive-st-louis-arts-award/ |access-date=October 9, 2024 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}} She was nominated for the Riverfront Times' 2009 Music Awards in the category "Best Jazz Artist".{{Cite web |last=Zaleski |first=Annie |date=April 24, 2009 |title=2009 RFT Music Awards Nominees: The List |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/music/2009-rft-music-awards-nominees-the-list-2682351 |access-date=October 9, 2024 |website=Riverfront Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=RFT Music Awards Nominees & Showcase Performers |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/music/rft-music-awards-nominees-and-showcase-performers-2481659 |access-date=December 12, 2024 |website=Riverfront Times |language=en}} In 2010, she became an inaugural member of the Ferguson Walk of Fame, which honors people born or living in Ferguson.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Kevin C. |date=July 23, 2010 |title=Michael McDonald one of several Ferguson honorees |url=https://www.stltoday.com/life-entertainment/local/music/michael-mcdonald-one-of-several-ferguson-honorees/article_c47071b8-95e8-11df-a15e-0017a4a78c22.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 9, 2024 |website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |language=en}}
Discography
= Albums =
- Pow! Jeannie Trevor Sings (1965)
- St. Louis Jazz Quartet (1972)
- Love You Madly (1999)
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing
Category:Singers from St. Louis
Category:Singers from New York City
Category:American women jazz singers
Category:20th-century African-American women singers
Category:21st-century African-American women singers