Emme Kemp (born 6 May 1935) is an American pianist, vocalist, bandleader, Broadway composer, lecturer, and music researcher.
Born Emmelyne Kemp, as a child prodigy, she was reared in the musical melting pot of Chicago, where she launched her career at the age of six by presenting her first piano recital, playing Mozart and Strauss along with several of her own compositions..She attended Morgan Park High School and studied at the Northwestern University, was a private pupil of the great classical pianist Egon Petri in California. She then broadened her approach to jazz at the Berklee School of Music and with the New York University Jazz Ensemble.
She also served for three years in the Women's Army Corps where she produced shows for Special Services and was assigned to the Judge Advocate’s office.. Her jazz anthology goes from classic to modern. Emme played at Josephine Baker's Welcome Back Party and has appeared on numerous college campuses and at festivals, venues in Japan and her beloved Harlem. She played in a trio which consisted of Earl May (bassist), Earl Williams (drums). In Woody Allen’s film “Sweet and Low Down,” Emme is shown in the Chicago jazz session scenes with Sean Penn.
Here’s Creole Love Call from above album
Over the years she has appeared as a pianist, singer and actress in concerts, clubs, theatres and on television throughout the USA, Europe and Japan. Kemp is multilingual, performing in six languages. She has performed at festivals in Martinique, Italy’s Umbria, Monte Carlo’s Sporting club in front of Princess Grace, and Lincoln 92nd Street & to the Schomburg Center. On Broadway, she composed music for, and acted in, Bubbling Brown Sugar, and wrote music for The American Dance Machine and Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope, and Lorraine Hansberry's musical "Raisin. She has performed her originals tunes on the Guiding Light and Captain Kangaroo.
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| Emme and Eartha Kitt |
Kemp has appeared in Dick Hyman's Jazz in July series at the 92nd Street Y, the Schomberg Center's Women in Jazz Festival and received an Audelco Pioneer Award for her theatre contributions.. Her lectures and writings form a significant overview on popular culture. Her deep spirituality has given Ms Kemp a compassion that is the lifespring of her music. As a bandleader she has hired the creative likes Paul Quinichette, Ernie Wilkins, Arvell Shaw and many others. She played with the U Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Jimmy Guiffre at Carnegie Hall.
Her keyboard narrative “Someone To Sing To” premiered in Berlin in 1992 co-starring Queen Yahna and a cast of thirteen. Ms. Kemp also has created a various versions of “Someone To Sing To” geared to the size and audience for any venue, allowing her to share this wonderful musical theatre experience everywhere. Commissioned theater piece “Echoes Out of Time” premiered at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. “The Ballad of Box Brown” followed in Philadelphia Emme Kemp has also received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP, NANBPW, and IWJ.
In 1998 Emme sang and played on her album” Someone To Sing To featuring” seven original compositions. Researcher of American music, Emme Kemp initiated the 100 Anniversary celebration of W.C. Handy’s birth at NYC’s Overseas Press Club and was recently acknowledged at the New York Press Conference announcing the US Congressional resolution designating 2003 as the Year of The Blues. New York Post said of her “Her lyrics bear distinctive identity; blending wry, tough introspection and engaging soft heartedness.” The New York Times noted “. . .an unusually sensitive understanding.”
During August 2020 Emme played piano and sang on The On Channel, Home Spun Sundays Show. She was accompanied by Bassist Lonnie Plaxico, Saxophonists Patience Higgins and Bill Saxon with other surprise guests.
(Edited from Wikipedia, AllAboutJazz, jazzsingers.com, blogtalk radio)
Please note- It was hard to get some sort of time line for this bio as only a few dates were given on all the cited sources. Also I have noticed that her eyesight was ok until she was photographed with a patch over one eye. I could find no information as to why, but as the years rolled by her sight in her other eye seemed to become less and less. Perhaps some kind person will supply a bit more information about her eye sight.
The following clip is from the last performance offered by Broadway Icon and Jazz Master, Emme Kemp during 2020. Then at the age of 85 years young Master Kemp was still at the top of her game.