Blue Engine Records, the in-house record label of Jazz at Lincoln Center, is proud to release The Magic of Marilyn Maye: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marking the first album release in a decade from the renowned vocalist, actress, director, and arranger, this collection spotlights some of Marilyn Maye’s most unforgettable performances on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s stages over the years. The Magic of Marilyn Maye: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center is available now on all major streaming platforms now.
For more information and to listen to the album, visit jazz.org/marilyn.
Recorded across all of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s stages—Rose Theater, The Appel Room, and Dizzy’s Club—The Magic of Marilyn Maye: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center captures the full breadth of Maye’s artistic command in spaces that have become a second home to her. Produced by Lisa Schiff, Jazz at Lincoln Center Chair Emeritus, the album features collaborations with top-notch performers including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, with whom Maye delivers a show-stopping medley of Johnny Mercer tunes.
A favorite of both Ella Fitzgerald’s and Johnny Carson’s, Maye has been enchanting audiences for an extraordinary eight decades with her boundless energy, pristine delivery, and witty interpretations of the American Songbook. Dubbed the “Queen of Cabaret,” “Medley Maye,” and “Super Singer,” Maye’s artistry shines anew on her first release in years, which stands as a joyful testament to her unerring superpower: making listeners feel.
Maye’s professional singing career began at age nine, when she won a 13-week engagement on WIBW-FM in Topeka, KS. From there, her star continued to ascend. During an extraordinary 11-year run at the Colony in Kansas City, she caught the attention of Steve Allen, who introduced her to national television audiences through numerous appearances on his show. Those performances ultimately led to her recording contract with RCA.
Maye went on to appear 76 times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson—the all-time record for a singer. Her place in American music history was further cemented when the Arts Council of the Smithsonian Institution selected her recording of “Too Late Now” for inclusion in its collection The 110 Best American Compositions of the Twentieth Century.
“What’s extraordinary about Marilyn is that her artistry hasn’t dimmed,” said Mo Rocca, CBS National Correspondent, during a 2021 CBS Sunday Morning segment. “She performs with the same power, clarity, and joy that first captivated national audiences decades ago.”
The release of The Magic of Marilyn Maye continues the milestone 10th anniversary celebration of Blue Engine Records. In 2015, Jazz at Lincoln Center launched the label to release new studio and live recordings by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Since then, it has released works by both the most celebrated musicians in modern jazz and emerging artists as well as previously unreleased material from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s vast archives spanning nearly 40 years. The first Blue Engine title—Live in Cuba, recorded by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis—was released on August 21, 2015. Blue Engine also has released archival recordings, including Betty Carter’s The Music Never Stops (March 2019) and Roy Hargrove’s The Love Suite: In Mahogany (October 2023) from the organization’s performance history.