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Jean E. Evans (born August 14, 1927) is an American blues and jazz singer, pianist, and composer. She is noted most for her musical collaboration with husband Jimmy Cheatham, with whom she formed the Sweet Baby Blues Band in 1984. Her autobiography, Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On: My Life In Music, was published in 2006.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Biography

Cheatham was born and grew up in Akron, Ohio, the first child^[a] of Elizabeth (née Smart) and Ernest Evans.^[4]^[5] At the age of five, she started having lessons on her aunt's newly-acquired piano, which was soon moved to Cheatham's home when it transpired that she had a talent for music her aunt lacked.^[6] Not long after, she began playing for services at the church her family attended.^[7] Throughout her school years, Cheatham's piano teacher also took her to play at weddings and social events, as well as to give recitals.^[8]

Cheatham first played jazz music when, aged 14, she was asked to join a local 15-piece rehearsal orchestra. While still in high school, she began playing in smaller groups,^[9] and found herself in demand professionally as most younger musicians were drafted into the US Army during World War II. In 1944, she was accepted as a student at the University of Akron,^[10] but was unable to complete more than one year for financial reasons.^[9]^[11]

Writing in the Los Angeles Times in 1992, Dirk Sutro (author of Jazz for Dummies) noted that "Jeannie Cheatham remains one of the under-appreciated greats of jazz and blues, both for her spare, tasteful piano playing, which ranges from boogie-woogie to Monk‑ish surprises, and for her earthy but sensuous voice."^[12]

In 2006, Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham received a lifetime achievement award at the San Diego Music Awards,^[13] and in November 2022, were inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame.^[14]

Discography

Academy Awards in Jazz (1964)^[15]
Roberta Como & Jean Cheatham
with George Duvivier and Jo Jones
Grenadier Records
GLP-100 (Mono LP) GSLP-100 (Stereo LP)
Changing with the Times (1993)^[16]
George Lewis
New World Records
New World 80434-2 (CD)

Notes

^ Her parents later had two more daughters and three sons.^[4]

References

^ Trageser, Jim (2022). "Catching up with Jeannie Cheatham". Living Blues. Vol. 53, no. 278. University, MS: Center for the Study of Southern Culture. pp. 10–11. ISSN 0024-5232. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
^ Trageser, Jim (2022). "Happy Birthday, Jeannie! Jeannie Cheatham Celebrates her 95th Birthday this Month". San Diego Troubadour. San Diego, CA: San Diego Troubadour. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
^ Cheatham, Jeannie (2006). Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On: My Life In Music. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292712935. Retrieved January 12, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
^ ^a ^b Cheatham (2006), pp. v, 1–2, 26, 39, 44, 46–47
^ "Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950, Record Group 29, Roll 728, ED 89-133, Sheet 10, Line 20". Washington, DC: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023 – via FamilySearch.
^ Cheatham (2006), pp. 10–19.
^ Cheatham (2006), pp. 37–38.
^ Cheatham (2006), p. 19.
^ ^a ^b Dance, Helen Oakley (1987). "Jeannie Cheatham". Jazz Journal International. Vol. 40, no. 10. London: Jazz Journal Ltd. pp. 12–14.
^ Cheatham (2006), p. 48.
^ Cheatham (2006), p. 52.
^ Sutro, Dirk (April 7, 1992). "San Diego Spotlight". Vol. 111, no. 126 (San Diego County ed.). Los Angeles: The Times Mirror Company. p. F2. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Trageser, Jim (September 13, 2006). "San Diego Music Awards set for Monday". The San Diego Union–Tribune. San Diego, CA. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
^ Bell, Diane (November 8, 2022). "San Diego Music Hall of Fame has six new inductees". The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, CA. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^ "A Smash Album: Academy Awards in Jazz [Advert]". Cash Box. Vol. 25, no. 34. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. May 2, 1964. p. 45. Retrieved January 14, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
^ Changing with the Times (PDF) (Media notes). George Lewis. New York: New World Records. January 1, 1993. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2023.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)