Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994 Harlem) was an American jazzsinger. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics. In her late teens and early twenties, McRae played piano at Minton’s Playhouse, sang as a chorus girl, and worked as a secretary. It was at Minton’s where she met trumpeterDizzy Gillespie, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Kenny Clarke, had her first important job as a pianist with Benny Carter’s big band (1944), worked with Count Basie(1944) and under the name “Carmen Clarke” (having married Clarke)^[4] made her first recording as pianist with the Mercer Ellington Band (1946–47). But it was while working in Brooklyn that she came to the attention of Decca‘s Milt Gabler. Her five-year association with Decca yielded 12 LPs.