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Annie Ross, “Twisted’ jazz singer, dead at 89

Annie Ross, a dynamic jazz singer and lyricist whose “vocalese” technique came to the fore on her signature song, “Twisted,” died Tuesday. She was 89.

Ross’ former manager, Jim Coleman, confirmed the singer’s death to The Washington Post. Ross had been suffering from emphysema and heart disease, Coleman told the newspaper. Ross died four days short of her 90th birthday.

Ross rose to fame from 1957 to 1962 as the high-speed lead singer for the vocal trio, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, The New York Times reported. She teamed with Dave Lambert and Jon Hendricks and recorded several albums, starting with 1957′s “Sing a Song of Basie,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1952, Ross teamed with vocalist King Pleasure on an album that included “Twisted,” an interpretation of saxophonist Wardell Gray’s 1949 solo effort. The tongue-twisting tune, sung by a patient who is convinced she is smarter than her psychiatrist, was also recorded by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. It also has been recorded by Joni Mitchell and Bette Midler, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ross can be heard singing the song over the closing credits of Woody Allen’s 1997 film “Deconstructing Harry,” according to the Times.

The jazz trio’s specialty was adding lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumentals, which was called vocalese. Ross “sang” the trumpet and piano parts with her soprano, while Hendricks and Lambert supplied the voice-overs for saxophone, trombone and rhythm sections, the Post reported.

The daughter of Scottish vaudevillians, Ross was born July 25, 1930, in Surrey, England. She came to the United States when she was 4 and appeared in an “Our Gang” two-reeler in 1937, singing “Loch Lomond,” the Post reported. She played Judy Garland’s younger sister in the 1943 film, “Presenting Lily Mars.”

Ross struggled with personal problems during the 1960s but re-emerged as a successful character actor during the 1980s, the Times reported. She battled heroin addiction and a troubled relationship with comedian Lenny Bruce, the Post reported.

Ross portrayed herself in the 1992 film “The Player” and played troubled jazz singer Tess Trainer in the 1993 film, “Short Cuts,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ross also had roles in “Yanks,” “Superman III,” “Throw Momma From the Train,” “Pump Up the Volume” and “Blue Sky.”

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