Suezenne Marie Grants

Suezenne Marie Fordham, (born Wichita, Kansas, U.S.) was an American Jazz pianist.

Funeral and gravesite services were held for Suezenne Marie Fordham Grants on Monday, July 1, 2013 beginning at 8:30am at the Old North Church and concluded at 11am in the Serenity section of Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, CA.

Suezenne was born to well known Kansas band leader Howard Fordham and wife Opal Snyder. She came to New York City in 1949 at the invitation of her friend, eminent Concert Pianist William Kapell to study with his first teacher, Dorothea Anderson La Follette. Later she attended the Juilliard and studied with Rosina Lhevine (briefly), Beveridge Webster, and Josef Raieff. She studied privately with Ania Dorfman and Robert Goldsand (whose teachers can be traced directly to Franz Liszt. Goldsand passed down Liszt's superb fingerings for double thirds to some of his favorite disciples, Fordham included).

To pay her expenses, she joined the Hatcheck Girls Union and worked at the Embers nightclub in New York, after being hired to work at the Birdland nightclub.

She was "discovered" by Walter Winchell while practising one afternoon at the Embers. She became famous in the 1950s and 1960s as Suezenne, the "Cinderella Girl," as Winchell, Irv Kupcinet, Dorothy Kilgallen called her. She was written about by Leonard Feather in Downbeat magazine for playing Bach Fugues in a prominent NY Jazz club (Embers). She toured extensively and exclusively for Jos Glaser's Associated Booking Corp, the top Jazz Agency at the time.

Her name appeared daily in the gossip columns. She played on radio and TV shows such as Jack Paar's show out of New York in the 1950s. She joined the Merchant Marines in order to tour the Caribbean and South America with her group the "Suezenne Fordham Trio" aboard the S.S. Brazil. She studied Jazz piano with Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans, and at times with George Shearing.

At the Embers, she played opposite Dorothy Donegan, Red Norvo, Joey Bushkin, George Shearing (with Cal Tjader, Toots Thielmans, Kenny Clarke, Al Mc Gibbons), Errol Garner, Barbara Carroll, Artie Shaw, Tal Farlow, Alex Kallao, and Johnny Smith. In Las Vegas,opposite the likes of Count Basie, Mort Sahl, Joey Bishop and Buddy Hackett at the Sahara Hotel. Other prominent appearances were at the Haymarket at the Conrad Hilton in Chicago opposite Louis Armstrong, Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale, and Versailles and Fontainbleau in Miami.

She played many years at the Hickory House on 52nd St, NY opposite Marian McPartland, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Jutta Hipp, Joe Castro, Billy Taylor and Bobby Scott. At the invitation of Dr. Billy Taylor, she became a part of Jazzmobile, a Harlem based Music Group committed to bringing Jazz to local neighborhoods for free. She played piano and was a Chanteuse (singing in English. German, French and Italian) at numerous Park Avenue Hotels, including the Doral, Tuscany, and the Park Sheraton.

Among the artists who sought her out to coach them were Gerry Mulligan, Milt Jackson, Teddy Charles, and Cal Tjader.

She was under contract to Columbia Records in the 1950s with her favorite bassist Richard Davis. She unwittingly signed a recording contract which was renewed every year but never recorded due to the recording company wanting to keep her out of competition with their star Dave Grushin. She eventually was able to disencumber herself from Columbia(Epic).

Her drummers included Ray Mosca, Roger Wanderscheid, Bud Neeley and others. She also studied vibes privately with Milt Jackson and Teddy Charles. At times her bassist was Teddy Kotik (Parker's Bassist).

In the late 1960s-early 1970s she formed two new progressive jazz groups, "Third Eye" and "70" with Bill Folwell, Bass; Bob Fritz, Electric Clarinet; and Ray Manning, Drums and percussion,performing all original material.

In Los Angeles in 2002, Fordham created Suezenne Fordham Chamber Jazz in Historic Sites Series "The Art of the Chamber Jazz Piano Trio." The group is now known as "Suezenne Fordham Chamber Jazz LA"

The group plays Jazz Fusion, Avant Garde, with Bartok and Messiaen influences. She played Steinway Pianos [when possible], Percussion, Melodian, Chakra Bowls, Singing Bowls and Gongs. (Tibetan Percussion) Drummer was Darren Ross, a Chamber Jazz virtuoso has been with the Trio since its inception and Roberto Miranda who returned playing Contrabass after a three year hiatus. In September '07, the Trio becomes a Quartet, with featuring two Contrabass players, Roberto Miranda and Noah Garabedian.who was with the group for the last three years and rejoined upon his return from Europe.

It is SFCJLA"s commitment to evolving new and exciting sounds that propel the Trio[quartet] into vast uncharted areas. They were very happy with two new venues, South Pasadena library, and Steinway Hall in West LA, boasting a superb Steinway Concert Grand.

Fordham was the recent recipient of the distinguished EIS Award for composition and promotion of the Equal Interval System by Spud Murphy as realised by MXMitacek. Her concerts included compositions by two of her mentors Bobby Bradford and MXMITACEK.

The Trio [Quartet]has been inducted into Chamber Music America, and looks forward to a long and fruitful relationship involving extensive composing and expanding their number of performances.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA.