Ernestine Anderson was born in Houston on November 11, 1928. She was raised in a musical family and grew up listening the blues. She sang gospel with her grandmother and father as a child. She joined Russel Jacquet, a trumpeter, to sing with his big band at the age of 12. When she was 18, she went on tour in 1951 with the Johnny Otis Band and 1952 with Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra. She decided that she wanted to become a professional singer and recorded with Quincy Jones in 1952, 1953 and 1954. After having recorded her first tracks with Gigi Gryce as alto saxophonist, she traveled to Sweden in 1955. She was a sensation singing with Rolf Ericsons Band, which included Cecil Payne and Duke Jordan. She was nicknamed “Stina” by the Swedes. Her first solo album, “Hot Cargo”, was recorded in Sweden. It was released in the USA by Mercury Records in 1958. She was already a rising star by this time. She was invited to sing at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958. She was also named Down Beat’s “Best New Vocal Star” and was featured in Time Magazine. She moved to London in the 1960s to continue her career as a jazz musician. However, she returned to America after a few years and settled down in semi-retirement. She still performs in local clubs. She was inspired by Ray Brown, bassist, to resume her career and signed with Concord Records in 1976. She has since made almost 20 albums. Two of her albums, “Never Make Your Move Too Soon” (1981), and “Big City”, (1983) were nominated for Grammys. After quincy Jones’ label, Qwest, she joined and received two of her tracks there, “Now And Then”, (1993), and “Blues, Dues,” (1983).
