Rare Silk

Rare Silk was an American jazz vocal group.[1] Consisting of the band members Gaile Scriver, Marylynn Gillaspie, Todd Buffa and Marguerite Juenemann (replaced by Barbara Reeves, and later Jamie Broumas), they started out as a swing-oriented group in the vein of The Pied Pipers and (even with the inclusion of a male member) The Andrews Sisters. They appeared with Benny Goodman at the 1980 Playboy Jazz Festival.

During the next few years, the ensemble modernized their style to include both bop and funkier material, recording for Polydor Records (1982) and Palo Alto Records (1985–86); most notable were their versions of "New York Afternoon," "Red Clay" and "Spain." Rare Silk broke up at the end of the 1980s.

Rare Silk began in 1978 as a 3-part harmony vocal group, much in the style of the Boswell Sisters. Their inception coincided with the beginning of local radio station KGNU. For several months, they created a weekly 15 minute local access radio show, which allowed them to build a repertoire. They met Benny Goodman by opening for him at Mackey Auditorium in Boulder. Goodman immediately took to the women's vocal stylings and asked them to go on tour with him. Their first gig was at the Boston Globe Jazz Festival and was live broadcast on PBS. The tour included dates at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and a week in Japan at the Aurex Jazz Festival. After their tour, they were joined by vocalist Todd Buffa and began restyling their approach to a more modern four-part harmony sound. They were soon discovered by a Polygram scout and recorded their first album, New Weave, in 1983. This album was nominated for two Grammys and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Jazz charts.

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