Biography
25 June 1952, Oslo, Norway, d. 20 October 1982, Oslo, Norway. Vocalist Toneff, whose father was Bulgarian folk musician and singer Toni Toneff, enrolled at the Oslo Music Conservatory to become a piano teacher. Here she met Arild Andersen, Jon Balke and other Norwegian jazz artists with whom she recorded. Toneff listened closely to Joni Mitchell, Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan, but insisted on avoiding the nonsensical lyrics of the standards repertoire. She chose hers from poems by Nikki Giovanni, Robert Creeley, and Fran Landesman, and on It Don’t Come Easy she also added lyrics of her own. In 1979, Toneff met pianist Steve Dobrogosz and began a close working relationship with him. The duo’s 1982 release Fairy Tales ventured into contemporary rock territory by including songs by Bernie Taupin and Jimmy Webb as well as standards. Toneff’s version of ‘Lost In The Stars’ was regarded by Sheila Jordan as definitive. Sadly, shortly after the...
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