(Anna) Ottillie Patterson (1932-2011)
Lived at: Brunner Close
Profession: Blues and Jazz Singer and composer
Other links: Composer
About her life:
Ottillie Patterson was born in County Down to a musical family; she took piano lessons from age nine. She began singing blues and jazz while in college. While on holiday in London in 1954 she joined up with trombonist Chris Barber and sang with his band. Although she returned to Ireland, Barber offered her a job and she made her debut with his band at the Royal Festival Hall in 1955. She performed with Barber’s bands for the next ten years, often playing 200 dates a year. She also made albums under her own name. In 1962 her reception at the Washington jazz festival was so enthusiastic that Duke Ellington’s performance was delayed for 10 minutes. She and Barber married in 1959 and bought a house in the Suburb in 1962; they divorced in 1983. Ill health forced her to retire in the mid-1960s, although she returned to tour occasionally in the 1970s. In her later years she lived in St Albans and Ayr.
