Rebecca Parris

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Rebecca Parris

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Ruth Blair MacCloskeyMontminy, Judith (May 14, 1989). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/438975105/?clipping_id=126211795 "Rebecca Parris' Career Reaches High Note"]. The Boston Globe. p. . Retrieved July 11, 2023.McKenna, Kathleen (May 14, 2006). "'It's been a drag,' but it's spring, again, for Parris; [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/126219994/ Parris back on stage again"]. The Boston Globe. Sec. South, pg. 11

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1951|12|28}}

| birth_place = Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|6|17|1951|12|28}}

| death_place = South Yarmouth, Massachusetts{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/obituaries/rebecca-parris-jazz-singer-is-dead-at-66.html |title=Rebecca Parris, Jazz Singer, Is Dead at 66 |first=Andrew R. |last=Chow |date=June 22, 2018 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180625091512/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/obituaries/rebecca-parris-jazz-singer-is-dead-at-66.html |archive-date=2018-06-25}}

| genre = Jazz

| occupation = Singer

| years_active =1985–2018

| label =

| website = {{URL|rebeccaparris.com}}

}}

Rebecca Parris (born Ruth Blair MacCloskey; December 28, 1951 – June 17, 2018) was an American jazz singer. During her career she appeared with Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Burton, and Dizzy Gillespie.{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/rebecca-parris-66-jazz-singer-of-uncommon-range-and-emotional-depth/ar-AAyRlIQ |title=Rebecca Parris, 66, jazz singer of uncommon range and emotional depth |website=Msn.com|accessdate=20 June 2018}} She performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival, and the International Floating Jazz Festival. She won the Boston Music Awards nine times.

Early life

Born Ruth Blair MacCloskey in Newton, Massachusetts, Parris was the youngest of three daughters born to musicians Edmund M. MacCloskey and Shirley Robinson, and the niece of vocal coach Blair McCloskey{{efn|Parris makes a point of explaining to the interviewer that her father and uncle disagreed on the correct spelling of their family name.}}.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/439705633/?clipping_id=126218261 "Obituaries: Shirley MacCloskey; Was organist at Newton church"]. The Boston Globe. December 8, 1991. p. 111. Retrieved June 11, 2023. She derived her stage names, respectively, from her own nickname, Becky (acquired early in life owing to her perceived resemblance to the title character of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), and from the Cole Porter song "I Love Paris".

Critical reception

"I hear a little Carmen McRae when I listen to Rebecca", said Ron DellaChiesa, the jazz disk jockey at WGBH in Boston. "And a little Sarah Vaughan. I think she's on that level".{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=12167|title=All About Jazz|website=All About Jazz|date=10 January 2007 |accessdate=20 June 2018}}

"Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae were my friends while they were alive, and it was a huge blessing to know them," said Parris. "And being accepted as one of them was huge".{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/09/08/noted_jazz_singer_revisits_home_turf_at_newton_south/|title=Noted jazz singer revisits home turf at Newton South|first=Denise|last=Taylor|date=8 September 2005|accessdate=20 June 2018|newspaper=The Boston Globe}}

Death

On June 17, 2018, Parris died at the age of 66.{{cite web|url=http://duxbury.wickedlocal.com/news/20180619/local-jazz-icon-rebecca-parris-dies-at-66|title=Local jazz icon Rebecca Parris dies at 66|first=Emily|last=Clark|website=Duxbury.wickedlocal.com|accessdate=21 June 2018}}