Newport News, Virginia

Esther Marrow began singing professionally in the early 60s and her big break came in 1965 when she was asked by Duke Ellington to take part in his ground breaking Concert of Sacred Music at the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Marrow toured with the Duke Ellington Band as well as Harry Belafonte and came to the attention of Bob Thiele who recorded and released this debut album on his Flying Dutchman label in 1969. Musically, it_„Žs a compelling mix of funk and soul, occupying similar terrain to Alice Clark_„Žs great album that was released on Mainstream in 1972. For example, Jesse Stone_„Žs _„ƒMoney Honey_„Ž is given a crunching funk arrangement and is one of three tracks that tempt collectors to pay big money for an original copy. _„ƒWalk Tall_„Ž and _„ƒChains of Love_„Ž are the other two. _„ƒChains Of Love_„Ž was originally recorded in Detroit by J. J. Barnes and became a Northern Soul classic. _„ƒWalk Tall_„Ž is one of the album_„Žs highlights and features music originally written by pianist Joe Zawinul and performed by Cannonball Adderley, with lyrics written by James Rein and Esther. It has become something of a jazz standard, but no version ever bettered this original track.