Libby York

Libby York, an expressive yet little-known jazz singer shaped by the Cool School stylings of June Christy and Chris Connor, came into the world and grew up in Chicago. Her approach to swinging remains understated, laid-back, and reflective. Upon reaching adulthood she departed her hometown for studies at American University in Washington, DC, where political science became her focus, prior to relocating to Delaware and establishing the Back Porch Café, a restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, in 1974. Subsequent residences included Key West, Florida, before her 1981 arrival in the Big Apple. Throughout her thirteen years there, York trained under Abbey Lincoln and Judy Niemack while supporting herself through various daytime jobs that ranged from catering to a production assistant role on Saturday Night Live. This improviser, who delayed her entry into professional singing until the age of thirty-five, captured some material in New York even though commercial distribution never followed. Her return to Chicago took place in 1994, and it was there that she cut her first record, Blue Gardenia, issued by Southport in 1998.