Thelma Carpenter

[ghost of miles]

She did a date with Coleman Hawkins in 1939 ("He's Funny That Way") that I really enjoy, and I've been thinking about tracking down some of her recordings. Any starter recommendations?

BTW, anybody else wish we had a "Vocalists" forum here? I know it didn't generate as much traffic on the BNBB as most of the other forums, but I still miss it...

[LAL]

I recall Thelma doing some numbers on Count Basie's mid-40s radio transcriptions (available on the Hep and Hindsight labels). There's also an album, Herman Chittison with Thelma Carpenter which I'm not sure is still available. There's a list of albums/recordings in which she appears here. Hope that helps.

[ghost of miles]

Thanks, LAL. I have several CDs on that list (including the Teddy Wilson JUMPIN' FOR JOY) and will go back to them tonight to find the Thelma Carpenter tracks.

[Harold_Z]

There's a VHS video that pops up on ebay very often. It's an Eddie Condon show form around 1960 with Thelma Carpenter singing a couple of tunes backed by Willie the Lion, Cutty Cutshall, Al Hall and George Wettling. It's terrific - as is the whole show. Also present are Wild Bill Davison, Wingy Manone, Ed Hall, Vic Dickenson, Gene Schroeder, etc. Even Johnny Mercer and Sammy Davis Jr are there. The video quality is a little grainy, but hey!....know what I mean?

The Ebay blurb usually has the date wrong - I think they put 1972 or 1964. It's a "Tribute To Eddie Condon" or something to that effect and it looks like somebody has a copy that they use for a master to crank out copies.

Edited April 23, 2004 by Harold_Z

[mikeweil]

Some details:

Thelma Carpenter w. Count Basie:

CO 33955-1 I Didn't Know About You - Columbia 36766

December 6, 1944

dtto.

Call Me darling - AFRS BML P-574

January 11, 1945

Edited June 22, 2009 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

Jazz singer Thelma Carpenter began performing at an early age. In 1939, she joined Count Basie, where she produced her most memorable recordings. After leaving Basie she worked with Teddy Wilson's orchestra. She continued recording into the sixties and began an acting career in the seventies.

Born January 15, 1922 Brooklyn, NY

Died May 14, 1997 New York, NY

Films:

1970s

Barefoot in the Park (1970) (TV)

The Devil's Daughter (1972) (TV)

Call Her Mom (1972) (TV)

The Wiz (1978)

1980s

The Cotton Club (1984)

New York Stories (1989)

(Source)

[mikeweil]

Found a photo at http://www.apassion4jazz.net/page18.html

Edited June 22, 2009 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

Some more search revealed that Thelma Carpenter recorded 12 sides on her own fpr Majestic in 1945 and 1946, another 5 or 6 for Columbia in 1947 and 1950, and an LP with the Henry Jerome Orchestra backing her for Coral in 1963. Bruyninckx says that other recordings of her are of no jazz interest.

Besides the others mentioned before there are four sides with Bill Campbell & his Harlem Eight for Deluxe, recorded September and October 1946.

[jeffcrom]

I was interested in this thread, since I recently picked up a Thelma Carpenter 78 - "These Foolish Things" and "My Guy's Come Back" - Majestic 1017, backed by Bud Freeman's band. This morning I pulled together the handful of Thelma Carpenter vocals I have and compared them to the one Thelma Lowe track I have, from the Lucky Thompson Excelsior session. I know that's not much to go on, but it doesn't sound at all like the same singer to me. Lowe has a heavier voice, for one thing.

I like Carpenter's singing. And J.J. Johnson plays some amazing stuff on the Excelsior session.

[ghost of miles]

Afterglow show I did a couple months ago:

The Best-Known Unknown in Show Business: Thelma Carpenter

You can also hear "My Guy's Come Back" in this program:

The Year We Won the War: 1945 (starts at 38:38 into the show)

[mikeweil]

I could confirm Thelma Lowe (or Love), who was Lucky Thompson's wife, died in 1963 - she and Thelma Carpenter are two different persons.

Sorry if I caused any confusion - I will delete or edit my posts above two avoid future misunderstandings.

Edited June 22, 2009 by mikeweil