Sandi Russell

Sandi Russell (January 16, 1946 – June 23, 2017) was an American jazz singer and writer who later settled in England. Her book Render Me My Song: African-American Women Writers from Slavery to the Present was influential in efforts to bring women into the African American literary canon.

Early life and education[edit]

Sandi Russell was born in New York City in 1946, to a mother with Native American descent and a father descended from enslaved African Americans, and she grew up in the city's Harlem neighborhood.[1][2][3][4] She was accepted into the High School of Music & Art, where she worked with Leonard Bernstein and performed at Lincoln Center.[1] She then earned a scholarship to attend Syracuse University, where she became part of the first class of Black students to integrate the school.[1][4]

After graduating from Syracuse, Russell pursued postgraduate studies at Hunter College and worked as a teacher in the South Bronx.[1]

Jazz singing[edit]

Russell had an interest in music from a young age, which was supported by her family.[5] Her love of jazz was influenced by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, and others.[1] She eventually, at age 30, began singing jazz professionally.[1] She toured throughout the United States, including with a mixed-race band in the South.[1]

After moving to England in 1984, she continued to perform in London and beyond.[1][6] In the early 2010s, she helped launch the first jazz festival in her new home city of Durham.[1][4][7]

Russell recorded two major albums: Incandescent (2001) and Sweet Thunder (2007).[1]

Writing[edit]

As a young woman, Russell worked on weekends at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which introduced her to the world of literature.[1] After moving to England, she began working as a writer, starting as a journalist for the Women's Review, an alternative publication in London.[1][8] As a journalist, she interviewed various significant figures including Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou.[4][9] Her writing appeared in the anthologies Glancing Fires: An Investigation into Women's Creativity (1985) and Daughters of Africa (1992).[1][4]

In 1991, she published the nonfiction book Render Me My Song: African-American Women Writers from Slavery to the Present, considered a key feminist intervention in the African American literary canon; she later published the novel Color in 2013.[1][5][10][11] She turned Render Me My Song into a one-woman show, followed by the touring stage show ELLA!, which told the story of Ella Fitzgerald.[1][4]

Her writing was noted for its orality, owing in part to her ear for music.[4][5][10]

Personal life, death, and legacy[edit]

Russell suffered from congenital kidney disease beginning in her 40s, but she continued to tour as a musician despite significant difficulty.[1][6]

She died in 2017 at age 71.[1][3] A scholarship at Durham University was named in her memory.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Collecott, Diana (2017-08-14). "Sandi Russell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  2. ^ a b "The Sandi Russell Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship". St Chad's College Durham. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  3. ^ a b Aughterson, Kate; Philips, Deborah (2021-01-23). Women Writers and Experimental Narratives: Early Modern to Contemporary. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-49651-7.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lepaludier, Laurent (2006-12-01). "An interview with Sandi Russell". Journal of the Short Story in English. Les Cahiers de la nouvelle (47).
  5. ^ a b c Sellers, Susan. "Interview with author Sandi Russell". Susan Sellers. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  6. ^ a b "Sandi tells of secret struggle". Chronicle Live. 2003-08-18. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  7. ^ "First jazz festival for spring season". Darlington and Stockton Times. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  8. ^ Chambers, Deborah; Steiner, Linda; Fleming, Carole (2004-06-01). Women and Journalism. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-49619-8.
  9. ^ Higgins, Therese E. (2014-05-22). Religiosity, Cosmology and Folklore: The African Influence in the Novels of Toni Morrison. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-79418-9.
  10. ^ a b Tye, Ann (December 1991). "Her Infinite Variety: Render Me My Song African-American Women Writers From Slavery To The Present". Crisis. Vol. 98, no. 10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  11. ^ Wolfreys, Julian (2017-09-16). The English Literature Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-230-36555-1.
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