Class Notes & Profiles

All That Jazz

By Rachel Beck '04

There are few things as pleasing as the sound of an exquisitely dusky voice lending itself to jazz melodies. A person with such a voice has a rare gift, and those who get to hear it are lucky indeed.

Barbara King '77 has the voice, and she has been enchanting her audience with it since she was 7 years old. She has performed in church, school plays, and choirs, and is now a respected vocalist in America and abroad. The statuesque vocalist's renditions of popular standards as well as original compositions have received critical acclaim in numerous clubs around New York City including Birdland, B. Smith's, The Water Club, The Village Gate, Tavern on the Green, and Le Bar Bat.

A psychology major at Vassar, she studied at the Brooklyn Music School under Roland Washington. She has toured extensively with several troupes, and can currently be heard performing with the group TanaReid on their album Back to Front.

King will be the entertainer at the Annual Scholarship Benefit for the Vassar Club of New York. The event will take place on May 11th, 2004, at Jazz Standard (also known as Blue Smoke) in Manhattan. For more information, please phone 212.860.4443 or 212.724.0807.