Corky Hale: Jazz Harpist,& Pianist with Billie Holiday,1(+Bonus)

(Paying Subscribers, again I thank you with bonus material—two rare articles about Hale are at the bottom of this essay.)

I was on a panel discussion in July 2023 with harpist Brandee Younger, which reminded me about another harpist in jazz who has, I think, been forgotten by most people outside of Los Angeles. You may know Dorothy Ashby and one or two other harpists in this list, but do you know of Corky Hale? Born Merrilyn Hecht in 1936 in Illinois, she has been based in L.A. for much of her life, and is best known there. But she did spend a couple of years in Rome around 1960, and was based in N.Y.C. for much of the 1970s and ‘80s. Her biography was published in 2018.

In addition to her mastery of the harp, she’s one of those enviable pianists who can play any song in any key. She’s also an excellent singer, and she plays flute and piccolo. Hale recorded with Ella Fitzgerald in the Songbook series and others, and with Peggy Lee, Steve Kuhn, Chet Baker, Buddy Collette, the late Tony Bennett, and many others. In fact it was Bennett who brought Hale to the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was hosting it. In this remarkable clip, she accompanies Tony on harp, is interviewed, gives Johnny a quick harp lesson, then accompanies herself on harp and sings a song with the band. This was aired in, most likely, November 1967. (I’ve also seen it listed as October 12, 1968, but that was a Saturday, when the Tonight Show played reruns. She worked with Bennett mostly in 1967 so I think that date is likely to be the original airing.)

In 1956 Hale played piano on gigs with Billie Holiday and appeared on TV with her in a series hosted by Bobby Troup, a songwriter (best known for “Route 66”) and actor. It was broadcast “live” on August 13, 1956. Unfortunately Hale is only visible at the very end (from about 12:20 onward) but her excellent accompaniment is audible throughout:

In Hale’s book there is a photo of them together (and there’s another similar one online):

Billie had a special interest in women musicians, as I’ll detail in a future essay. So she asked Hale to tour with her. But Hale talks in print about her brief time with Billie here, and explains that she turned down Billie’s offer to tour because Billie’s husband Louis McKay was a “rough character.” She was afraid of him.

Now let’s watch and listen to some samples of her harp playing, from her own TV series which aired in L.A. on Monday nights during 1990. The house rhythm section was vibraphonist Gene Estes, bassist Herb Mickman, and the legendary Earl Palmer on drums. We’ll begin with her harp solo on “Yesterdays.” This segment is introduced by her mother, Dorothy Hecht. (As an inside joke, the credits at the end of every show listed Dorothy as “Stage Mother.”) Corky says “Get that woman an S.A.G. (Screen Actors Guild) card!” Then she plays some great harp, including a solo with the rhythm section at 3:07. Enjoy it:

The next video, below, is a complete episode of her show. There is a fine example of her harp playing at 10:00, on "Here's That Rainy Day"—she displays real virtuosity here. She is backed by both Mickman and Andy Simpkins on basses, and Estes, who was also an excellent drummer, filled in here and on other programs when Palmer was not available. If you care to watch the rest of this show, at the beginning she sings and plays piano with the same trio. There are some talk segments, and from 18:40 to the very end you will see Brazilian guitarist-singer Kleber Jorge with guitarist John Pisano. The first song title isn’t announced, but it’s “Casa Forte” by Edu Lobo. Next is “One Note Samba.” Nice! You may remember that Pisano replaced Jim Hall in Chico Hamilton’s group from 1956 to ‘58. He remained active in numerous projects, and died at age 93 on May 2, 2024.

In the clip below from the second show in her series, she briefly explains how the harp works. Then she plays “My Romance,” beginning with an unaccompanied harp solo, then joined by the rhythm section:

Hale has also recorded albums as a leader. One of her albums is here, and there are several on streaming services such as Spotify.

Hale has been a lifelong activist. In college, she was one of the few white students to join the NAACP. As an advocate for women’s reproductive rights, she was a birth control teacher at Planned Parenthood in New York and served on the boards of both NARAL and WRRAP. She was the founder of Angel Harvest, an organization that rescues some of the vast amounts of food that get thrown out by restaurants and catered events and redistributes it to the needy.

She has also been a producer of theater and television shows, opened her own nightclub and store, and much more. Since 1970, she has been happily married to songwriter Mike Stoller (of Leiber and Stoller). She has been “first call” harpist for many singers. Bjork made a demo recording accompanied solely by Corky’s harp. Hale was not credited when one of the demo songs, “Like Someone in Love,” was included on Bjork’s first album, Debut, in 1993. But Bjork performed it as a duet with her on MTV Unplugged in 1994, which was later released as an audio album. George Michael heard that performance, so in 1999 he asked for Corky to perform a duet with him on “I Remember You.”

So, don’t get me wrong—Hale has had a very successful career and a very full life. She’s not sitting at home feeling forlorn! Still, her harp work has been forgotten, and I'm sure she'd be happy to hear from musicians and fans. She has a Facebook page, and you can email her through her assistant Denise Grinde-Grimes at: corkyhaleassistant@aol.com (Use my name please.) There is more info about Hale on these pages. (And Paying Subscribers, below you will find two rare articles about Hale.)

It was my pleasure to interview Corky Hale by Skype as part of my Billie Holiday seminar in the spring of 2015. I will share that audio with you, and more, in Part 2.

All the best,
Lewis

P.S. Thank you for help with this essay to Jon Sotzing of Carson Entertainment Group and to Denise Grinde-Grimes at Corky Hale Productions.