American jazz vocalist (June 8, 1937 Los Angeles, CA, - Feb. 10, 2023 Palm Desert, CA)
Starting at age 7, Harper was trained with riffs and novelty material for shows in concert halls. With a LP recording session with The Oscar Peterson Trio at 16, she graduated into maturity with an ever deepening Sarah Vaughan style. After a modest string of tour and film appearances, Harper retired from performing around 1966 to raise a son she had with Eugene Jackson, named Dane Batiste Jackson (1957-1987). By the 1970s, she met a new husband, Ron Dunlap, and held a long administrative career with the federal government. Harper maintained an active social media profile toward the end of her life. This included a nominal website for a planned new release, but it was noted offline after her death.