Born in Memphis in 1895, and having been an early blues innovator in the 1920s, Alberta Hunter became a living link to the jazz-age and stars like Bessie Smith, Paul Robeson and Ma Rainey. In the late `50s she started a second career as a nurse, and mostly retired from music, but by the mid-70s was lured back to live performances at The Cookery in NYC for over 6 years before her passing in 1984. ... more