Ellyn Rucker
Ellyn Rucker (born July 29, 1937 died 2022) is a bop pianist and singer. Rucker was over 40 years old before she pursued a fulltime career in music.
Born 29 July 1937, Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Singer and pianist Ellyn Rucker’s great pianistic skills and her sensuous voice belie her late start as a jazz performer. Coming from a very musical family, Rucker first took an interest in piano when she was eight years old. Later, she studied classical piano at Drake University, but by the age of 13 her brother had persuaded her to listen to jazz. She began playing clubs and hotels in her home-town area, but it was 1979 before she became a full-time professional musician. In the ensuing time she was an ordinary mother, raising a family, and playing infrequently.
By this stage in her career, she had also begun to sing occasionally to her own accompaniment. She spent several years working in Denver, Colorado, where she was heard by Mark Murphy who advised her to try for the “big time”. Although essentially a solo player, sometimes working with a rhythm section, she has occasionally worked with visiting jazzmen, including Roy Eldridge, James Moody, Clark Terry, Richie Cole and Buddy Tate.