Ranee Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ranee Lee
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| Background information | |
| Born | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, jazz blues, torch songs |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, jazz drummer, tenor saxophonist |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | Justin Time |
Ranee Lee, a member of the Order of Canada, is an amazing American jazz singer and musician. She lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Ranee Lee is also an actor, a writer, a teacher, and even a TV host! People sometimes call her Montreal's Queen of Jazz.
Ranee Lee has won a Juno Award, which is a big music prize in Canada. She was also named the best Canadian female jazz singer twice by Jazz Report Magazine. Plus, she received special awards from the International Association of Jazz Educators for how much she has helped jazz music.
About Ranee Lee
Ranee Lee was born in Brooklyn, New York. When she was 28 years old, in 1970, she moved to Montreal. In the 1970s, she traveled all over North America. She played as a jazz drummer and a tenor saxophonist during her tours.
Acting and Music Career
Later, Ranee Lee got a main role playing the famous singer Billie Holiday in a play called Lady Day. She won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her fantastic acting in this show. After her success as an actor, she started recording music as a singer. Her very first album, Live at the Bijou, came out in 1984.
Ranee Lee also wrote and starred in her own musical. It was called Dark Divas, The Musical. This show was a special tribute to seven amazing female jazz singers from the 20th century. These included Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan.
You can hear her music in an animated short film. It's called Black Soul and was released in 2000.
Other Talents
Besides music and acting, Ranee Lee is also a children's book author. She wrote a book titled Nana, What Do You Say?. She is also a teacher and has worked with the University of Laval in Quebec City. She also taught at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. On top of all this, she hosted a television show called The Performers.
Awards and Recognitions
Ranee Lee has received many special honors and awards for her talents.
In 1988, she won the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. This was for her great achievements in music and acting. A very big honor came in 2006. Ranee Lee was named a member of the Order of Canada. This is one of the highest awards a Canadian citizen can receive.
She also received the International Association of Jazz Educators award. She won this award twice, in 2004 and again in 2008. In 2010, she won a Juno Award for her album called Ranee Lee – Lives Upstairs.
Music Albums
Here is a list of albums Ranee Lee has released:
- All Grown Up (RCA Victor, 1980)
- Live at Le Bijou (Justin Time, 1984)
- Deep Song: a tribute to Billie Holiday with Oliver Jones (Justin Time, 1989)
- The Musicals: Jazz on Broadway (Justin Time, 1992)
- I Thought About You (Justin Time, 1994)
- You Must Believe in Swing (Justin Time, 1996)
- Seasons of Love (Justin Time, 1997)
- Presents Dark Divas (Justin Time, 2000)
- Maple Groove: Songs from the Great Canadian Songbook (Justin Time, 2003)
- Just You, Just Me with Oliver Jones (Justin Time, 2005)
- Lives Upstairs (Justin Time, 2009)
- A Celebration in Time with Oliver Jones, (Justin Time, 2010)
- What's Going On (Justin Time, 2014)
