Biography
Gospel music formed an essential element of Liz McComb's existence from the outset, as her mother served as pastor of a Pentecostal church in Ohio. Even before reaching school age, she sang before her mother's modest yet devoted congregation, delivering her first public solo on "Do You Know Him." Shyness prompted her to adopt music as her chief mode of expression while growing up. She initially studied violin yet became captivated by the piano upon watching an older sister take lessons. Before entering her teens, McComb sought her pastor's approval to create a junior choir and, once granted permission, supplied original songs for its performances that drew enthusiastic praise from listeners. Her brother, an avid jazz enthusiast, further shaped her tastes by urging her to explore his record collection, which contained works by Nat King Cole, Wes Montgomery, and Max Roach.
During her time as a young performer at Cleveland's Karamu House, a cousin residing in Europe requested a tape of McComb's singing to forward to an agent in Switzerland. The agent remained unmoved by the studio demo she supplied but expressed interest in a recording of the energetic gospel material from her youth. That selection proved decisive, prompting McComb to depart for Europe in the company of the Karamu House director, herself a former blues singer. She subsequently recorded an album that met with strong approval in Germany and Switzerland. Among her European engagements was a 1981 appearance at the International Festival of Montreux, where she shared the bill with Bessie Griffin, Koko Taylor, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Taj Mahal, and Luther Johnson, Jr. Further successful festival outings led to her serving as opener for James Brown and Ray Charles. By then based in Paris, she performed at the Champs-Elysees Theater, the Casino, and the Opera of Lyon. The Olympia in Paris hosted her complimentary concerts for the city's homeless, excerpts of which appear on the recording Olympia: 1998 Live, while EMI issued a film of the event titled Live at the Olympia. Another release, Time Is Now, received the Mahalia Jackson Prize.
McComb returned to the United States in 2001 to present a New Year's Day concert at Houston's Astrodome, followed less than a week later by an appearance at New York's Lincoln Center. She then issued her U.S. debut album, Fire, on Crystal Rose/EMI, which reached Billboard's gospel Top 40 while narrowly missing the Top 20.
During her time as a young performer at Cleveland's Karamu House, a cousin residing in Europe requested a tape of McComb's singing to forward to an agent in Switzerland. The agent remained unmoved by the studio demo she supplied but expressed interest in a recording of the energetic gospel material from her youth. That selection proved decisive, prompting McComb to depart for Europe in the company of the Karamu House director, herself a former blues singer. She subsequently recorded an album that met with strong approval in Germany and Switzerland. Among her European engagements was a 1981 appearance at the International Festival of Montreux, where she shared the bill with Bessie Griffin, Koko Taylor, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Taj Mahal, and Luther Johnson, Jr. Further successful festival outings led to her serving as opener for James Brown and Ray Charles. By then based in Paris, she performed at the Champs-Elysees Theater, the Casino, and the Opera of Lyon. The Olympia in Paris hosted her complimentary concerts for the city's homeless, excerpts of which appear on the recording Olympia: 1998 Live, while EMI issued a film of the event titled Live at the Olympia. Another release, Time Is Now, received the Mahalia Jackson Prize.
McComb returned to the United States in 2001 to present a New Year's Day concert at Houston's Astrodome, followed less than a week later by an appearance at New York's Lincoln Center. She then issued her U.S. debut album, Fire, on Crystal Rose/EMI, which reached Billboard's gospel Top 40 while narrowly missing the Top 20.
Albums
