Ottilie Patterson, singer with the Chris Barber Jazz and Blues Band , died this week
I probably first saw her around 1962 - 63 , singing with the band at the Birmingham and Midland Jazz Club at the old Digbeth Institute , sneaking in as an under-age member , and through her discovered Ma Rainey and the incomparable Bessie Smith , starting a life long love affair with the blues..............and she was a bloody good singer. She suffered from poor health and left the band in the late sixties, but had toured the States with the band to great acclaim and sung with Muddy Waters - not too bad for a girl from Northern Ireland.
The Chris Barber Band is still touring.
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