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Baltimore native Ethel Ennis is a national treasure. Critics have hailed her as "the most accomplished singer performing today."
That stature was earned by her magnificent voice, her brilliant compositions, her joyful performances and her collaboration with the finest musicians.

Ethel Ennis first won national recognition for her recording "Lullaby for Losers" in 1955. In 1958, she was selected by Benny Goodman as the female vocalist for his all-star band. After performing at the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival with Billy Taylor, Cozy Cole, and Slam Stewart, she appeared with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra on television's "Bell Telephone Hour." She returned to her hometown to perform in concerts with the Count Basie Band and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. During that same period, she shared the bill with Cab Calloway at Harlem's Apollo Theater.

In the seventies, she founded the practice of singing the National Anthem a capella at Richard Nixon's 1973 presidential inauguration. She also became Baltimore's cultural ambassador, singing Chinese folk songs in Baltimore's sister city of Xiamen, China as well as performing in Rotterdam, Germany.

Frank Sinatra once described her as, "my kind of singer." A Downbeat reviewer once said of Ethel, "her voice runs deep, exuding the personality of a sage who has lived many lives." She is the great sage of jazz and if you can find any one of her two dozen records and singles, you will have added a national treasure to your collection.