Biography
Born Natalie Riemer in New York City, Rae received private instruction from Lennie Tristano during her late teens and early twenties. She subsequently performed with both small combos and larger ensembles, primarily across Long Island and for a two-year period in Puerto Rico. After an extended absence from performing, she resumed in 1990 through regular appearances at workshops, jam sessions, and live dates alongside the Greater Apple Jazz Ensemble. The collective featured arranger and bassist Jon Randall, pianist Victor LaGamma, and drummer Ed Tierney. Following the group’s breakup in 1997, Rae collaborated with several players, among them Loring “Burnie” Burnett and singer-producer Rose Gunter. At Gunter’s urging, Rae documented her singing on the 1999 debut album On Wings. The recording enlisted saxophonist Mike Filice, pianists LaGamma, Mike Capobianco, and Chris Clark, guitarist Mick Gaffney, bassist John Ray, drummers Tierney and George Hooks, plus saxophonist Jimmy Halperin, who had also studied with Tristano a generation after Rae. Upon release, the album underscored the jazz-vocal community’s earlier oversight; listeners encountered a seventy-something singer whose sound suggested someone half her age. A four-track portion arranged chiefly by Halperin highlighted the pair’s common grounding in their teacher’s approach. Rae’s delivery remains eloquent and inventive, confirming deep immersion in jazz language, yet she also maintains a partnership with singer-guitarist George Murphy that still reveals those same roots.
Live