Lorraine Feather

Early life

Feather was born in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of jazz writer Leonard Feather, and his wife, Jane, a former big band singer. Feather's parents named her Billie Jane Lee Lorraine for her godmother Billie Holiday, for her mother (Jane), Jane's friend, singer Peggy Lee, and for the song "Sweet Lorraine".

Career

She began working in television as a lyricist in 1992 and has received seven Emmy nominations. Her lyrics for children include Disney’s Dinosaurs series on ABC and the MGM films Babes In Toyland and An All Dogs Christmas; Feather and composer Mark Watters wrote the themes for MGM’s TV shows All Dogs Go to Heaven and The Lionhearts; they also created the piece “Faster, Higher, Stronger” for Jessye Norman to sing in the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics. Feather and composer Larry Grossman wrote the song that Julie Andrews performed in The Princess Diaries 2. Feather has also created lyrics for Disney’s feature film The Jungle Book 2 (with Australian jazz musician Paul Grabowsky), and for Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween, the PBS series Make Way for Noddy, and the Candy Land and My Little Pony films for Hasbro Toys.

Feather's work has been heard on numerous records, in films and on television. Her songs have been covered extensively by artists such as Phyllis Hyman, Kenny Rankin, Patti Austin, Diane Schuur and Cleo Laine. Many of her own solo CDs have featured contemporary lyrics to formerly instrumental pieces written by Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and other pre-bop composers. Feather’s recordings have received glowing reviews in every major jazz magazine. Down Beat has called her work “deliciously savvy”; Jazz Times referred to her as “a lyrical Dorothy Parker” and her lyrical reinventions as “pure genius”.

In 2005, Feather began working as lyricist on Canum Entertainment's theatrical project The Thief, based on the Oscar-nominated Russian film and featuring the music of Russian composer Vladimir Shainskiy; The Thief debuted at LA’s El Portal Theatre in the summer of 2007. Soon after, she started work on Canum’s next musical, Pest Control, with co-lyricist Scott de Turk. She was also commissioned to write lyrics for a musical production of Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities (music by New York neo-classical composer Stefania de Kenessey). American Opera Projects has presented excerpts from this work, and it was featured at the annual Derriere Guard concert in New York in October 2007, with Tom Wolfe as keynote speaker.

Feather has released 12 albums, three in the 1980s with the vocal trio Full Swing. The albums she has done since 2001 have received the widest radio airplay and most press. Two of these were Fats Waller and Duke Ellington projects with her added lyrics. More recently, her CDs have featured original compositions written with such jazz composers as Eddie Arkin, Shelly Berg and Russell Ferrante. Feather's 2010 release, Ages, received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, as did 2012's Tales of the Unusual, nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the tune "Out There," arranged by Shelly Berg.

Personal life

Her husband is Tony Morales, formerly a drummer for artists such as The Rippingtons, David Benoit and Rickie Lee Jones. In 2007 they relocated to the San Juan Islands in Washington State.