Rebecca Kilgore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rebecca Kilgore | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1949 Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 7, 2026 (aged 76) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, swing, western swing |
| Occupations | Musician, vocalist |
| Instruments | Vocals, rhythm guitar |
| Years active | 1980–2024 |
| Labels | Arbors, Jazzology, Audiophile |
| Website | www |
Rebecca Kilgore (September 24, 1949 – January 7, 2026) was an American jazz vocalist based in Portland, Oregon.[1] She has been called "one of the best interpreters of the Great American Songbook".[2] She performed with jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg, trombonist Dan Barrett, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, pianist Keith Ingham, and many other musicians.[3]
Rebecca Louise Kilgore was born and grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts. She was the younger of two daughters born to Jean (Schaufus) Kilgore and George Mallard Kilgore, who worked in sales and served as choir director to a Unitarian church. He introduced his daughter to concepts of music theory and harmony.[4]
In a profile by Christopher Loudon in Jazz Times, Kilgore recalled "When I was in high school, I was into Joan Baez and Judy Collins and people like that. I got a guitar and strummed along. Then I discovered a disc jockey in the area who played classic jazz. I got acquainted with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald and Anita O'Day and just flipped. ... They were my teachers, because I never had any formal training."[5]
In the late 1970s, Kilgore visited her sister in Portland, Oregon. She then made Portland her home base for the next five decades of her life and career.[6]
Career
Kilgore frequented the Portland music scene. She became close friends with a woman jazz musician in the local group Wholly Cats. When her friend left the group, Kilgore was encouraged to try out a role as rhythm guitarist and singer.[4]
Her debut recording is the Wholly Cats LP, Doggin' Around, released in 1982.[6] Drummer Hal Smith also performed on that album. Kilgore went on to work on a number of Hal Smith's projects, including 10 CDs released on the Triangle and Jazzology labels from 1995 until 2000.
Through the 1980s and into the early 1990s she primarily worked with Pacific Northwest regional musicians. She joined Western swing outfit Ranch Dressing and appeared on fiddle champion Hollis Taylor's Twisted Fiddle CD.[5] Jazz pianist and composer David Frishberg first heard her playing with Wholly Cats in 1981.[7] In 1991 he recruited her to sing in a regular duo gig at Portland's downtown Heathman Hotel.[6]
In addition to regular vocal work allowing her to give up her last day job, Frishberg's national following and connections accelerated Kilgore's progress into her role as an interpreter of the American Songbook.[4] She and Frishberg released three CDs as a duo, as well as playing together in small group recordings.
From the mid-1990s through the early 2020s, she worked constantly, organizing and collaborating with jazz, swing, and western swing musicians, headlining and appearing on over 70 CDs. Her most prominent label, Arbors Records, released 24 CDs with her vocals, spanning the years 1994 to 2016.
She appeared live locally, nationally, and internationally. Venues included festivals, concerts, cabarets, and jazz cruises.[4] Her recorded work is found on over 20 different labels. From 1995 until 2020, she also featured on the National Public Radio program Fresh Air. Host Terry Gross stated during a memorial segment "I think Becky did more concerts on our show than any other performer."[7]
Awards
- Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2010.[2]
- Jazz Society of Oregon Hall of Fame in 2010
- Jazz Legend, San Diego Jazz Party in 2016
- Portland Jazz Master, PDX Jazz in 2022
Personal life and death
In 2002 Kilgore married trumpeter Dick Titterington.[4] She died in hospice care on January 7, 2026, at the age of 76; she had had Lewy body dementia for some time.[8]
