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| Bobbi Humphrey at The Jazz Museum in Harlem Dubbed “First Lady of the Flute, ” Bobbi Humphrey is the special guest of the Jazz Museum in Harlem's Harlem Speaks series on March 16, 2006. Since the start of her professional career began in 1971, when she was the first female signed to Blue Note Records, Harlem resident Bobbi Humphrey has been playing her special brand of music to audiences around the world. In 1973, her LP Blues and Blues was not only a huge commercial success, but established her as a strong crossover artist. That year she was invited to the prestigious Montreux International Music Festival in Switzerland, where noted jazz critic Leonard Feather acclaimed her “the surprise hit of the festival.” She currently remains the only successful female urban-pop flutist on the scene. Born in Marlin, Texas and raised in Dallas, Humphrey's training on flute began in high school and continued at Texas Southern University and Southern Methodist University, where Dizzy Gillespie spotted her when he served as a judge in a school-wide competition. With Gillespie's encouragement she pursued a career in New York City, where on her third day she performed with Duke Ellington! The title of one of her Epic LPs, The Good Life, best describes her career. Humphrey has played with notables such as Lee Morgan, Ralph McDonald, and her close friend Stevie Wonder, who featured her on the classic Songs In The Key of Life LP in 1977. Between 1971 and 1976, Humphrey recorded six albums for Blue Note, including the successful Satin Doll LP. Humphrey has also composed and produced musical jingles for several major corporations, such as Halston and Anheuser Busch, and did solo work for The Cosby Show. In 1989, she produced one of her most exciting and personal LPs entitled City Beat, which remained on the Billboard Magazine Black Charts for sixteen weeks. In 1990 her company, Bobbi Humphrey Music, Inc., signed a production agreement with Warner Bros. Records, in which she brought new artists to the label and produced new material. Her agreement with Warner Bros. followed her discovery of R & B vocalist Tevin Campbell, resulting in sales in excess of five million units. In 1994 Humphrey launched her label, Paradise Sounds Records, releasing “Passion Flute, ” which continues to be one of her fans' all-time favorite recordings. The album showcases Bobbi Humphrey in a cool jazz setting; mostly at mid-tempo, with a surprising uptempo version of the huge hit, “Harlem River Drive.” write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |