Bobbi Humphrey

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Bobbi Humphrey
Birth nameBarbara Ann Humphrey
Born (1950-04-25) April 25, 1950 (age 73)
Marlin, Texas, United States
Genres Jazz, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Flute, vocals
Years active1971–present
Labels Blue Note, Epic, Malaco, Paradise Sounds

Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer. She has recorded twelve albums over the course of her career, mostly playing jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. In 1971, she was the first female instrumentalist signed by Blue Note and in 1994, she founded the jazz label Paradise Sounds Records. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Humphrey was born in Marlin, Texas, and raised in Dallas. She graduated from Lincoln High School, Dallas, in 1968. Her flute education included classical and jazz in high school. She continued her studies at Texas Southern University and Southern Methodist University. Dizzy Gillespie saw her play at a talent contest at Southern Methodist and inspired her to pursue a music career in New York City. She followed his advice, moving to New York in June 1971, and she got her first break performing at the Apollo Theater on Amateur Night. [3]

Career

Within weeks of arriving in New York, Humphrey was signed by George Butler to Blue Note. She had already begun playing regularly throughout the city, including joining Herbie Mann on stage in Central Park and an impromptu performance on The Tonight Show . She was asked to join the final band of trumpeter Lee Morgan, performing on his last Blue Note album in 1971. Morgan contributed to Humphrey's first album, Flute-In , in 1971. [4] [3] [5]

She has played with Duke Ellington and George Benson. Benson and Humphrey were guest musicians on Stevie Wonder's single "Another Star" from his Songs in the Key of Life (1976) album. [6] In 1976, she was named Best Female Instrumentalist by Billboard magazine. [7]

Humphrey has played at the Apollo Theatre, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Montreux Jazz Festival, Russian River Jazz Festival (Northern California). She cites Hubert Laws, Herbie Mann, and James Moody as influences. [3]

Blacks and Blues , recorded in 1973 with the Mizell Brothers, was one of her biggest selling albums for Blue Note. On this album she shifted from the straight ahead jazz of her first two albums produced by George Butler. She sought out the Mizell Brothers after their work on Donald Byrd's Black Byrd , which combined funk with jazz. Blacks and Blues was recorded in three days at the Sound Factory. In "Harlem River Drive" and other tracks, Humphrey's playing was improvised. [1] As Humphrey recalled in an interview in 2006, "In other words, they would play the track in the background and just tell me to play to it. There was no written melody. Growing up, the music they listened to was doo-wop. And from that background, they intrinsically understood harmony. So they would already have the chord changes and background vocals laid out. I just played what I felt off the top of my head against that." [1] Humphrey sings vocals on "Just a Love Child" and the album's last track, "Baby's Gone". [8] Blacks and Blues peaked at no. 84 on the Billboard 200, where it spent a total of 21 weeks, making this her first album to chart. [9]

Satin Doll , recorded in 1974, continued her combination of soul jazz and funk. The album was dedicated to Duke Ellington, who died shortly before the album was released, and its cover art features Humphrey's daughter, Ricci Lynn. [1] Satin Doll was her second and final record to chart on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at no. 30 and spent a total of 18 weeks. [10] Fancy Dancer marked Humphrey's third and final collaboration with the Mizell Brothers. It includes Latin percussion and harp instrumentation by Dorothy Ashby. [8] For her next album, Tailor Made, she switched to Epic. [5]

Despite high album sales, Humphrey did not see much of her Blue Note albums' financial success. [1] In 1977, she moved into the business side of the music industry. She incorporated Innovative Artist Management as well as a publishing business, The Bobbi Humphrey Music Company, which signed an agreement with Warner Bros. in 1990. [11] Humphrey brought Tevin Campbell into the music industry and was involved in his negotiations with Warner Bros. [1] In 1994 Humphrey started her label, Paradise Sounds Records, and released Passion Flute that year. [12]

Humphrey's works, notably Blacks and Blues, has been sampled by Eric B. & Rakim, Grand Puba, Digable Planets, Mobb Deep, Ludacris, and Ice-T. In 2002, Common invited her to play on his album Electric Circus . [1]

Discography

As leader

TitleLabelYear
released		NotesPeak chart positions
US
[13] 		US
R&B
[14]
Flute-In Blue Note 1971——
Dig This Blue Note1972——
Blacks and Blues Blue Note1973LA series8418
Bobbi Humphrey Live at MontreuxBlue Note1974LA series. Live.——
Satin Doll Blue Note1974LA series305
Fancy Dancer Blue Note1975LA series——
Tailor Made Epic 1977——
FreestyleEpic1978——
The Good LifeEpic1979——
City Beat Malaco 1989—67
Let's Get Started Warner Bros. 1990——
Passion FluteParadise Sounds1994——
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As a sidewoman

with Common

with Gwen Guthrie

with Lee Morgan

with Various Artists

Recording notes

Humphrey's last album for Epic was The Good Life, recorded in 1978/79 at Rosebud Recording Studios, New York. The album is notable for the list of supporting musicians that included Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Ralph MacDonald (who produced the album), Christopher Parker, and a young Marcus Miller. [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey fights the good fight". Wax Poetics. 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  2. ↑ "BOBBI HUMPHREY - Flute Legend's Official Website - Bio". 2019-03-29. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  3. 1 2 3 Gibbs, Vernon (September 1974). "Bobbi Humphrey Arrives!". Essence. 5: 12 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ Washington, Rico (July 31, 2012). "Jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey fights the good fight". waxpoetics.com. Wax Poetics. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Bobbi Humphrey". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  6. ↑ Perone, James E. (2006). The Sound of Stevie Wonder . Praeger. ISBN   0-275-98723-X.
  7. ↑ Billboard: Bobbi Humphrey
  8. 1 2 "Satin Doll: Bobbi Humphrey in the 1970s". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Bobbi Humphrey | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Bobbi Humphrey | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  11. ↑ "Humphrey, Bobbi 1950". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  12. ↑ "Bobbi Humphrey". bobbihumphrey.net. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
  13. ↑ "Bobbi Humphrey | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  14. ↑ "Bobbi Humphrey | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  15. ↑ "Red Bull Music Academy Daily". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
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