Baltimore jazz institution Ethel Ennis was born November 28, 1932. Beginning her vocal career while a pianist in a high school jazz group, she quickly went on to sing with everyone from Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington to Count Basie.

Ennis' debut LP, Lullabies for Losers, appeared on Jubilee in 1955, with the follow-up, Change of Scenery, issued two years later on Capitol; around the same time, she toured Europe with Benny Goodman, but finding the grind of the road too intense, she returned home to Baltimore, and -- much to the detriment of her rising fame -- rarely played outside of the Charm City area in the decades to come.

After 1958's Have You Forgotten?, Ennis did not resurface until six years later, landing at RCA for This Is Ethel Ennis; three more LPs -- Once Again, Eyes for You and My Kind of Waltztime -- quickly followed by another eight-year studio hiatus which finally ended with the 1973 release of the BASF album 10 Sides of Ethel Ennis. That same year, she also sang the National Anthem at the re-inauguration proceedings of President Richard Nixon. Ennis next turned up on vinyl in 1980 with Live at Maryland Inn; a self-titled follow-up was 14 years in the making, with If Women Ruled the World appearing in 1998.

Miss Ennis died at home in Northwest Baltimore on Sunday morning, at 86. Her husband of 51 years, Earl Arnett, confirmed her death; he says she had suffered four strokes over the past two years, including one in December, from which she didn’t recover.

Jason Ankeny -All Music Guide