Biography
Wesla Whitfield earned recognition as one of the leading voices in contemporary jazz for her command of popular standards, drawing praise for the suppleness of her delivery, the clarity of her intonation, and the precision of her phrasing. Born in the Los Angeles region, she received instruction in both singing and piano during childhood, later pursued classical studies at the university level, and performed as a member of the San Francisco Opera chorus. Yet the demands of opera pulled her from the popular standards she had cherished since youth, prompting her to appear regularly in neighborhood piano bars; by the mid-1970s she had committed fully to a cabaret career, beginning with work as a singing waitress. In 1977 a random street shooting left her paralyzed from the waist down; following prolonged rehabilitation she resumed performing, and in 1981 she started a musical partnership with bassist Michael Greensill, who became her husband five years afterward. Over the ensuing period Whitfield shifted from her classical roots into jazz, her range descending from soprano to alto, and from the mid-1980s onward she recorded prolifically for her own Myoho imprint before joining Landmark for the 1990 release Lucky to Be Me. She moved to Highnote in 1997 with Teach Me Tonight and stayed with the label for the subsequent albums High Standards (1998), The Best Thing for You Would Be Me (2002), September Songs (2003), In My Life (2005), and Livin' on Love (2006). Whitfield passed away at her residence in St. Helena, California, in February 2018 at age 70.
Albums
