When Gloria Stewart (1926-1974) arrived in Barcelona in the summer of 1959 at the age of 34, she was a singer with little background, limited to occasional performances as a band vocalist and appearances in clubs in her hometown of New York and in Philadelphia. She had already visited Madrid and Barcelona in a previous trip, and enjoyed Spain, so she decided to come back to stay. After spending some time in the coastal town of Sitges (35 Km south of Barcelona), where she got some gigs accompanied by the local pianist Josep Vadell, early in November she moved to Barcelona.

Once settled in the city, Gloria soon met the members of the Jazz Brothers, and in November began performing with them at Jack’s, a recently opened jazz club, located clandestinely in the back room of the Carmona bullfighting bar, located at the number 48 of Parlamento street.

The Jazz Brothers, also known as Jack’s Brothers, was a quintet made up of four Americans: the two Hand brothers, Jack the bassist and leader of the group, and Phil the trombonist; Wally Besser, trumpeter, and “Chip” Collins, drummer, and by the young pianist from Barcelona Pere Ferré.

Within a short time, Jack’s became the city’s liveliest underground club and the most popular with jazz fans, who flocked to hear The Jazz Brothers and Gloria Stewart, who quickly won a warm welcome for the magnetic intensity of her singing. However, the daily influx of customers to the club led to complaints from local residents and Jack’s, which was operating without a license, was forced to close.

Meanwhile, the Jamboree, a new jazz venue in the heart of the old city on Plaza Real, with a policy of hosting weekly jazz sessions, was officially opened on January 9, 1960, with a performance by Tete Montoliu's sextet. However, shortly after a promising opening, it struggled to find direction and a stable lineup as Tete Montoliu and other local musicians refused to perform there because of the rowdy clientele, mainly sailors from the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet and prostitutes who paid little attention to the music.

Thus, The Jazz Brothers, who were unemployed, reached an agreement with the owner of the Jamboree, Juan Roselló, to offer live jazz on a daily basis and attract an audience. The news was well received by the former regulars of Jack’s, who now flocked to the Jamboree to see the Jazz Brothers without their original drummer Chip Collins (who had joined Tete Montoliu's quintet) but who found a good replacement in José Farreras. For his part, their pianist Pere Ferré also left the band, due to a schedule incompatibility with his daytime job, being replaced by another good pianist, Joe Fusté. A few days later, Gloria joined the group, to the delight and admiration of her growing legion of loyal followers.

Jamboree was the mecca of modern jazz, with its comfort and excellent decoration with mural paintings. Juan Roselló knew how to create a cosmopolitan and distinguished atmosphere, mixing snobbery and bohemianism. It became an extraordinary place for its time, a meeting point for local and foreign jazz lovers, where the public varied according to the day and time, between students, writers, painters, musicians, sailors, couples and artists of all kinds, who listened with fervor to the Jazz Brothers and Gloria Stewart, who became for fans “the muse of Barcelona jazz”. During the opera season, Thursday nights became fashionable among high society, who went to Jamboree after leaving the Gran Teatre del Liceu to dance and have a drink. Around one thirty or two in the morning the parade of elegance began: tuxedos, evening dresses and jewelry stood out in that oasis of freedom, tolerance and existentialism.

In mid-June 1960, after the Jazz Brothers’ contract with Jamboree ended, Wally Besser parted ways with the Hand brothers and Gloria temporarily joined Tete Montoliu's quintet, which was returning to Jamboree. A month later, Gloria, the Hand Brothers and Portuguese drummer Luis Sangareau moved to Ibiza, where they performed at the exotic Talamanca Jazz Club, located across the bay. There they met clarinetist Perry Robinson, who, after being part of Tete Montoliu's quintet, had settled on the island.

In September, Gloria returned to the Jamboree to join Tete Montoliu’s trio, which included bassist Antonio Vidal and drummer José Farreras, which alternated with the Hand brothers’ ensemble. In October, Tete traveled to Madrid to perform at Whisky Jazz, and Gloria joined the newly formed Jamboree Jazz Stars, made up of prominent musicians from the local scene, including drummer José Farreras, tenor saxophonists Salvador Font “Mantequilla” and José Tarazona “Pocholo”, pianist Julio Sandarán, bassist Rafael Lizandra and Dominican trumpeter Manolo Mercedes.

In the spring of 1961, Gloria participated in the filming of the movie Juventud a la intemperie, directed by Ignacio F. Iquino, a crime drama about a group of rebellious youth, in which she appears singing the blues ballad Manhattan Blues. That summer, the Jamboree hosted the quintet of the excellent American alto saxophonist Dick Spencer, which included two of his compatriots—alto saxophonist Ty Brown and double bassist York Hughes—along with Dutch pianist Frans Elsen and German drummer Alfons Bleses. Gloria Stewart, together with German pianist Paul Glassl—who later joined the group, alternating with Elsen—performed with the quintet until early autumn.

In September, Tete Montoliu returned to Barcelona following his recent successes in Berlin and Comblain-la-Tour jazz festivals. Upon arriving at the Jamboree, he was so impressed by Dick Spencer and Alfons Bleses that he proposed forming a quintet with them. Both musicians accepted, and Tete invited tenor saxophonist Bent Jaedig and bassist Peter Trunk to join the group, which soon became recognized as one of the finest in Europe. Their performances alternated with those of Gloria Stewart, who sang accompanied by the trio of pianist Julio “Sandy” Sandarán.

The Jamboree had established itself as the city’s most important jazz club, but the shocking murder of a Barcelona businessman on November 17, 1962, unexpectedly shook its foundations. The mastermind behind the failed robbery—which ended with the victim brutally beaten with a meat tenderizer and stabbed to death, was Pilar, a 32-year-old woman close to the industrialist and familiar with his routines. She and her American boyfriend, Stephen, were regular customers at the Jamboree and moved in the same circles as Gloria Stewart and Jack Hand’s retinue.

While frequenting the club, Pilar and Stephen met a young U.S. Army deserter, Jimmy Wagner, who had just arrived in the city and was struggling financially. Taking advantage of his situation, Pilar convinced him to carry out the robbery, which ultimately led to the murder.

The police, following the trail of a letter in which Pilar requested financial assistance from the businessman, tracked down and arrested her and her boyfriend in Ibiza. Wagner, who had fled to Palma de Mallorca, was later apprehended, and formally charged with the brutal murder, which, according to the police, he committed it under the influence of drugs. Further investigations led authorities to the Jamboree, Gloria Stewart at Jamboree singing with the Julio Sandaran trio and as a result, seven other people—including Jack Hand, his girlfriend and sister-in-law, and Gloria Stewart—were interrogated and subsequently imprisoned under suspicion of complicity.

Gloria Stewart’s alleged involvement in the scandal shocked her many friends and admirers, who, convinced of her innocence, anxiously awaited herrelease. Finally, at the end of November 1962, Gloria—an unwitting victim of the affair—was acquitted of all charges, as she had no direct connection to what the Barcelona press had dubbed “the Existentialists Crime.” However, since Glorias’s residency papers were not in order, on January 18, 1963, the police forced her to leave Spain. The other defendants remained in prison and were tried in March 1964, receiving long prison sentences, although none of them served their full terms.

Gloria Stewart moved to Germany, settling in Berlin, where she continued to sing. There, she performed frequently in clubs such as the popular Egg Shell and the legendary Old Eden Saloon with vibraphonist Manfred Burzlaff and his quartet. This collaboration resulted in the present recordings at Audio Tonstudio in Berlin. Fourteen of the recorded tracks were originally released on LP that same year by the Swiss label Elite Special, founded by the Zurich based record company Turicaphon AG, under the reference SOLPS-283.

This CD release includes four additional tracks that were not released on the Elite LP due to space constraints. All recordings are now transferred here directly from the original analogue master tapes, courtesy of Jürg Schopper. Gloria also worked in London, appearing in the cast of the Broadway rock musical Hair when it first opened in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 24 September 1968, and on the recording of the album.

From 1969 onwards, after many ups and downs in her career and personal problems, she finally returned to Spain in 1971, settling in Ibiza in a house near the village of San Agustin in the municipality of San Jose. There she found peace and stopped acting. She lived with her son and daughter until August 30, 1974, when she died of a heart attack and was buried on the island.

Contributing to the overall atmosphere of lighthearted swing throughout this album is the Manfred Burzlaff Quartet. Their solid jazz sensibility, combined with Gloria’s magnificent vocal performances, creates many captivating moments—always warm and effortlessly swinging.

These were her only recordings, and they reveal a singer with a sensitive delivery, a distinctive vocal personality, conviction, and impeccable taste. For those who remember and admire her but feared her voice was lost, this album is a long-awaited treasure. For those unfamiliar with her, this will be a true discovery—an invitation to rediscover The Lost Voice of Jazz and experience the warmth and elegance of Gloria Stewart’s artistry.

—Jordi Pujol (From the inside liner notes of FSRCD 1161)