Edmonia Jarrett was born in South Carolina on March 11, 1933.  Like most of the jazz and soul greats she grew up in the church, singing in the choir and spreading the gospel through music.  At the same time her parents pushed her to make something of herself.  She chose the field of education.  Her path would first lead her to work at The Pentagon, and eventually to Seattle and a job at Boeing. Then she was hired by the Seattle School District, first as a teacher of African-American History and Physical Education, and eventually as principal of Cleveland High School.  Finally, after 23 years with the Seattle School District she retired. After retiring Edmonia then made a move that few would even attempt.  She decided she would become a professional jazz singer.  She was 55 years old.

In 1991 she got her first big break when she was chosen to play the part of Bessie Smith in an original play called “Janis” starring local R&B singer Duffy Bishop. The play followed the life of Janis Joplin and included a series of scenes in which Joplin spoke with and about some of people that had inspired her career.   During the play’s run Edmonia was spotted by a booking agent who helped amp up Jarrett’s jazz career by getting her into several jazz clubs in the Seattle area.

When Edmonia Jarrett was ready to record her first album she was surrounded by a wealth of local and national talent to help her.  She entered the studio alongside Barney McClure, Bill Ramsay, Billy Wallace, Floyd Standifer and Clarence Acox. The result was the album “Live, Live, Live!”.  It should be noted that although a live performance would have resulted in a great album, too, the title “Live, Live, Live!” actually refers to life, not to live performance. The songs recorded for the album were Jarrett’s interpretations of jazz standards, with a few lesser-known songs thrown in. Her next record, “Legal at Any Age” was released in 1998. Her third album, "Into the Light" was issued in early 2001.

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s Edmonia Jarrett was a fixture on the Northwest jazz scene and audiences never tired of her performances.  Unfortunately, cancer reared its ugly head in 2001 when Jarrett was diagnosed with lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain.  She put trust in her strong Christian faith, but she was not able to overcome the disease.  Edmonia Jarrett died on March 16, 2002.

(portions of this piece are from jivetimerecords.com and allmusic.com)

Here is a link to Edmonia Jarrett performing at Dimitiou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle:

"MIDNIGHT LADY CALLED THE BLUES"