Today we received the news we didn't want to hear.Angela Bofill,one of the great R&B and Jazz vocalist of our time, has died at age 70. The news was confirmed on Angie'sFacebook page. Angela was a friend to us here at SoulTracks, and one of the truly courageous stars we knew.
In a career spanning four decades, Angie graced both soul and jazz with a level of excellence that kept so many of her song on “spin” years after they were originally released. And the health problems that plagued her beginning in the mid 00’s perhaps made her longtime fans appreciate her even more, even as she courageously and successfully fought physical limitations.
Raised in New York by a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother, Angela Bofill was a student of many styles of music, from the latin sounds played regularly by her family to the soul and jazz sounds of her neighborhood in the Bronx. She began singing professionally as a teenager as a member of New York's All City Voices and as featured lead soloist for the Dance Theater of Harlem.
After completing her studies in California, Bofill was introduced by her friend, jazz flutist Dave Valentin, to Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen of GRP records, and they signed her for her 1978 debut,Angie. The album was a breakout smash on contemporary jazz radio and the tastefully arranged jazz vocal disc showed a gifted young artist with a rich voice beyond her years and real talent as a songwriter. Featuring a number of great cuts, including most notably a cover of Gwen Guthrie's "This Time I'll Be Sweeter,"Angiebecame one of the year's biggest jazz albums. She followed it in 1979 with the even betterAngel of the Night, a more muscular album that showed she had the chops to handle upbeat material like the title cut and the fantastic "What I Wouldn't Do" as well as softer tracks such as her own composition, "I Try" (later beautifully remade by Will Downing).
Sensing a star in the making, Clive Davis and Arista Records bought out Angela's GRP contract and teamed her with hot writer/producer Narada Michael Walden forSomething About You, an attempt at a more straight-ahead pop/soul album. While some of Bofill's jazz fans balked at the new album, it was a critical success, providing her with some of the best material of her career, including the stepper "Holding Out For Love" and the wonderful ballad "Break It To Me Gently." It was one of 1982's best albums and still sounds great today. Unfortunately, Arista pulled a rare blunder in its choices of singles to be released from the album, and the disc never received the props it deserved.
She teamed up again with Walden in 1983 forToo Tough, which was even more directly aimed at the urban market, with the hit funk-laded title cut and the beautiful ballad, "Tonight I Give In."Too Toughborelittle resemblance to Bofill's earlier jazz stylings, and may have cost her some jazz fans, though it became her highest charting album on the R&B charts. She again teamed with Walden forTeaser, which featured the anthemic ballad, "I'm On Your Side."
Whether singing jazz, soul or funk, and regardless of the quality of material she worked with, Bofill always got the most out of her material and made even lesser songs sound better than they should.She recorded two more modestly successful albums for Arista (with the help of the System and George Duke) before moving to Capitol and producer Norman Connors forIntuitionin 1988. It was her last notable chart success. She recorded three more albums over the next eight years of varying quality, and provided backing vocals on a number of other albums, most notably Connors' excellentEternityin 2000, where she sounded as wonderful as ever.
Angie appeared in a number of stage plays over the years, including "God Don't Like Ugly" and "What A Man Wants, What A Man Needs." She also regularly toured the US and Europe in multi-artist jazz artist shows.
In January, 2006, Angie suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for quite a while. She was uninsured, so many of her friends organized benefit concerts to raise money for her medical treatment. Sadly, while seemingly on the road to recovery, Angela suffered a second massive stroke on July 10, 2007. It was at that time that she won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Awards.
Angie began a long recovery from that point forward, ultimately returning home by Christmas, 2009. Then, in the most pleasant surprise, she appeared on a mini-tour of a show called "The AngelaBofill Experience" with the help of friends like Maysa, Phil Perry and Dave Valentin, where she shared stories, accompanied by the sounds of her musical friends.Themini-tour opened with five sold out shows in San Francisco and rave reviews, and continued from time to time throughout 2011. In 2012, TV One aired an episode of its hit seriesUnsungthat featured Angie's fascinating life and career. On a personal note, I was honored when Angie sent SoulTracksa short video of congratulationswhen we celebrated our 10th anniversary in May of 2013.
Angela spent the next decade working to recover from her ailments and enjoy her family. She lived with her daughter and son-in-law in California and was a happy grandmother of four, including twins. We send our deepest condolences to her family, even as we rejoice in all of the joy she brought us and her other fans over the years. Rest In Peace, Angie.
By Chris Rizik
