Mady Kaye among the greats to be inducted into Austin Jazz Hall of Fame

During the 1970s, while in college at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Mady Kaye — who grew up in a musical family in Poughkeepsie, New York — sang with a Western swing act that performed at truck stops in the Northeast.

Along the way, she developed a taste for the music of Bob Wills, so she packed up her car and headed to Texas.

In 1975, she ended up in Austin. Although she aimed to front a Western swing act here, her bandmates, all students at the University of Texas, wanted to play jazz instead. It's been jazz for Kaye ever since.

A short 49 years later, singer, teacher and leader Kaye — along with clarinetist and vocalist Stanley Smith and educator and performer John Pearson – will be inducted into the Austin Jazz Society Hall of Fame.

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The ceremony, slated for 3 p.m. April 7 at Chez Zee American Bistro, is technically sold out. Yet the the Austin Jazz Society presents a concert at Chez Zee monthly; track its schedule at the nonprofit group's website, austinjazzsociety.org.

"Mady’s original impact on the Austin jazz scene was felt by her 7-year gig at the Hyatt Hotel that was a proving ground for many Austin jazz musicians," says Denny Malloy, president of the Austin Jazz Society. "She performed at many clubs, concerts, theaters and jazz festivals, and was the featured vocalist in the Tony Campise Big Band. Mady's role as vocal coach and teacher has been immense across jazz and other musical genres."

A singer who has meant many things to the Austin music scene

Given her theatrical as well as musical background, it should surprise no one that Kaye has a knack for dreaming up acts.

In 1994, for instance, she founded the Austin Carolers, a four-voice a cappella vocal ensemble. It is likely the only professional caroling group in town.

In 1999, she helped found her most famous act, the Beat Divas, which today consists of Beth Ullman and Dianne Donovan. The three women improvise songs organically while demonstrating kitchen recipes.

"When the tomatoes in our garden get big and tasty, my husband and I buy real bacon, lots of it, and have what we call a BLT orgy," Kaye told the American-Statesman in 2011. "Last year I cooked up so much bacon that I put crumbled bacon in everything I cooked, all weekend long. And I thought it was very wicked! But I looked up to the heavens and said out loud: 'I don't care. It just tastes better with hog fat!' Then I said out loud: 'Wait! There's a song in there.'"

Mady Kaye and the Beat Divas later recorded the song "Fog Hat," which is not a tribute to Foghat, the English rock band.

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As the Beat Divas, the trio sings at concerts, clubs, jazz festivals, food conferences and cooking classes.

"It only makes sense that Austin would produce the Beat Divas, three ladies who make a living singing original songs like 'Hog Fat' and 'Tomato Blues' as a warm-up for their cooking classes," writes food reporter Kim Severson in The New York Times. "The three began as a respectable jazz trio that spent a lot of rehearsal time talking food. In 2004, they started teaching cooking classes at Central Market.

"They looked a lot like the nutritionists and cooking teachers that peppered the audience," Severson continues. "They sounded a little like the Andrews Sisters. And they were perkier than anyone has a right to be at 8 a.m. in Austin. The Beat Divas woke up even the most hung-over culinarians."

As luck would have it, the Beat Divas — along with instrumentalists Mitch Watkins, Eddy Hobizal, John Fremgen and Masumi Jones — will provide the entertainment for the Hall of Fame ceremony on April 7.

What is the Austin Jazz Society?

With four active, intimate clubs — Monks Jazz Club, Parker Jazz Club, Continental Gallery and Elephant Room — and bigger jazz acts stopping at the city's larger venues, it feels like the Austin's jazz scene is on the up beat.

Among other promising developments, classy Parker Jazz is now home to Austin Cabaret Theatre, the city's premier cabaret presenter, and Entr'Acte, a project from group of seasoned musical theater artists who stage concert versions of old Broadway musicals. Consider it the Austin version of New York City Center's series called Encores, which has revived countless "lost musicals" since 1994.

The Austin Jazz Society was founded in 2003 at the urging of artist William Kirchner, whose life partner was jazz pianist Marty Allen. He was devoted to the genre. Initially, the sale of Kirchner's art helped fund the nonprofit.

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In March 2020, the group started Project Safety net to raise money for Austin jazz musicians. Later during the pandemic, they partnered with with Collin Shook of Monks to allow jazz groups to perform live stream shows while clubs were closed. Eventually $140,000 was raised and given out as grants.

For 10 years, the Society has staged monthly jazz showcases at Chez Zee Gallery on Sunday afternoons. It sponsors jazz events all over the city.

"Music is all about joy!" Kaye says. "Giving joy, receiving joy, sharing joy,  performing or teaching. What's not to like?"

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin Jazz Hall of Fame honors Mady Kaye, John Person, Stanley Smith