

The first being held at the Cathedral of St.
Swing it magistern alice babs series#
There was a brief visit to the UK in 1966 where Duke performed in Coventry Cathedral (minus Alice), but it wasn’t until a little later, undeterred by Baptist Ministers, simply asking “Doesn’t God accept sinners anymore?”, and supported by the Interdenominational Church Ushers Association, Duke was to relaunch the series on January 19, 1968, calling it now ‘The Second Sacred Concert’. Bussey, a spokesperson for the Baptist Ministers Conference of Washington, D.C., refused to endorse the concerts. Duke took her aboard his stage-coach and toured the world under the ‘Sacred Concerts’ banner well into the 70s, with the premiere at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in 1965 called ‘A Concert of Sacred Music’, appearing in both Connecticut and New Canaan, although problems arose with their application to perform in Washington where Rev. Where we join Alice Babs along this long creative path is with her collaboration with Duke Ellington (she sang for at his 40th birthday party). I heard Louis Armstrong, whom I loved when I was only eleven.” which is perhaps why she went on to work with such jazz luminaries as Shelly Manne and Ed Thigpen and so many others during her lifetime. Perhaps that is why jazz has always exercised a great attraction for me. Appearing alongside Sammy Davis at one point, it wasn’t until she was asked about her connection with jazz did the world begin to understand this side of her “I am naturally gay and happy. A most diverse musical path indeed with due recognition.Īlice Babs, the Swedish soprano, was a remarkable singer of jazz who first credits her father with introducing her to jazz with ‘gaiety’ and ‘enthusiasm’ part of her noted personality. Hop, skip and jump ten years wherein 1972 she was honoured with the title ‘Court Singer’ by King Gustaf VI Adolf.
Swing it magistern alice babs pro#
It was there in a form they could digest - and less uncomfortably than might someday be the case.” This selflessness culminated with Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil von Mannerheim presenting her with the distinguished Pro Benignitate Humana award for her contributions.ĭuring 1962 Alice had toured the States with a trio consisting of violinist Svend Asmussen and guitarist Ulrik Neumann under the banner ‘Swe-Danes’, appearing on both the Ed Sullivan Show and at Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. When the war ended she was the first Swede to go to Finland with a programme for the soldiers, saying “They found it not too unpalatable, I think. Peacefully from her home, surrounded by family, Alice Babs left our world on 11th February 2014 in her home town of Stockholm, Sweden.įirst appearing in public at the age of twelve, she broke into Swedish movies as a teenage star and proceeded to amass a wealth of experience, through cinema – lapsing sixteen movies with most notably ‘Swing it, magistern!’ in 1940, through jazz – with a huge catalogue from as early as 1939, and even through a spell with the Eurovision song contest in 1958. She can sing anything she sees or hears - opera, Bach, or jazz.” “Alice Babs is a performer beyond measure.
