Mimi Perrin

Diagnoses

Vocation

French jazz pianist and singer, and translator. In 1959, she formed the vocal sextet Les Double Six, which included, among others, Louis and Monique Aldebert, Monique and Roger Guérin, Christiane Legrand, Ward Swingle, Eddy Louiss and Bernard Lubat. Les Double Six completed several European tours and also traveled to North America, recording with Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ray Charles. Perrin was the leader and principal soloist in the group and established herself solo with John Coltrane's song "Naima" as one of the great jazz singers. From her ensemble eventually emerged the Swingle Singers led by Ward Swingle after he left the Double Six. In the mid 1960s, Perrin abandoned music after a bout of tuberculosis. From 1972 onwards, she worked as a translator of science-fiction and fantasy stories. In the 1980s and 1990, she translated more mainstream novels (including Alice Walker's The Colour Purple) as well as biographies of Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones and Steven Spielberg. She was also known for her French rendition of the novels by John le Carré since 1989, and later by Ha Jin, with her daughter Isabelle. She died on 16 November 2010. Link to Wikipedia biography