<p>So many one-of-a-kind voices stilled lately – Blossom Dearie this month, and Claude Jeter last month.</p>
<p>If you’re not familiar with Ms. Dearie (whose fans included Miles Davis), go to YouTube and check out (among other things) her performance of “Surrey with the Fringe on Top” on the old Jack Paar show.</p>
<p>As for Claude Jeter, YouTube has a great clip of him with his group the Swan Silvertones singing at the 1996 American Gospel Quartet Convention. Aside from being absolutely terrific in his own right, Jeter was a huge influence on lots of other folks, including Sam Cooke, Al Green, and even Paul Simon (who took a line from an old Swan Silvertones song – "“I’ll be a bridge over deep water if you trust my name” – as his inspiration for “Bridge Over Troubled Water”).</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/arts/music/09dear.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=blossom%20dearie&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/arts/music/09dear.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=blossom%20dearie&st=cse</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/arts/music/11jeter.html?scp=1&sq=claude%20jeter&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/arts/music/11jeter.html?scp=1&sq=claude%20jeter&st=cse</a></p>