Sip & Swing Sundays featuring the Sid Fendley Trio with special guest vocalist Louise Whitney

Sip & Swing Sundays at Babydoll's showcase local jazz and blues bands as well as up-and-coming musicians.

This week we proudly welcome the Sid Fendley Quartet! We'll also feature special guest (and Tracey Whitney’s mother) Louise Whitney, who will join the band for a set of her own (you’ll see that apple didn’t fall far from the tree!)

Sid Fendley is an award-winning Albuquerque-based jazz pianist, vocalist, audio engineer, and composer who has been a staple of the New Mexico music scene for over 30 years. He is widely recognized as a versatile performer and the owner of a local recording studio. He performs extensively across the region as a solo artist and group leader, and he's the resident band leader for “The Art of Jazz with Tracey Whitney” at Babydoll’s House of Jazz & Blues. Sid also plays keyboards for several area bands, including Tapestry and Prisma.

A renowned Los Angeles area entertainer, Louise Whitney began singing professionally at just sixteen in Portland, OR, and has an impressive career that’s spanned six decades. In the 1960’s she toured with legends of soul Solomon Burke and Johnny Otis. Later, under the moniker Whitney, Whitney & Whitney, she performed with her brother Jimmy Whitney (a Carlos Santana alumnus) and sister Mary Lee Whitney (who would go on to become a member of Stevie Wonder’s “Wonderlove,” and be the featured female vocalist on his hit Songs In The Key of Life single AS). Local celebrities, the trio were L.A. area nightclub staples. Louise had a thriving solo career as well, and in 1969 was tapped by Quincy Jones to perform He Said He Loves Me on the soundtrack to the Sidney Poitier film, The Lost Man, also performed the Emmy Award nominated Early In The Morning from 1977’s Minstrel Man starring Emmy Award winner Glynn Turman.

With all this music going on around them, it was only natural that Louise's kids - sons Glynn, Nick, Phillip and Ray, and daughters Tracey, Cozette, and twins Louise and Louanda, would start to mimic the grown-ups, who were always rehearsing or performing. Whitney took note of her children's natural talent, and together they would go on to become the singing powerhouse, The Whitney Family, debuting at the famed Coconut Grove in Los Angeles in 1971. At the time, the kids (who all sang lead and backup vocals) ranged in age from 5 (the twins) to 13 (Glynn). The Whitney Family toured the U.S. and abroad, played Las Vegas and Tahoe (opening for acts like Debbie Reynolds), and shared the stage with Ginger Rogers, Donny and Marie Osmond and even former First Lady, Nancy Reagan. They recorded albums for Warner Curb Records (Airways featured Let Me Be Your Woman, a Billboard magazine Top Singles Pick), and United Artists Records. They made guest appearances on several local and national TV shows, including Burt Sugarman's famed The Midnight Special and the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars. They were featured in several teen magazines, most notably Tiger Beat and Right On! The Whitney Family performed together for 20 years, until the “kids” began raising families of their own. It was one heck of a ride! https://www.thewhitneyfamilyband.com/

After the family group disbanded, Louise relocated to Las Vegas, NV in 2009, and continued to do session work and perform her solo act in area casinos and nightclubs until 2023 when she moved to Albuquerque to live with Tracey. Louise regularly sits in at Babydoll’s to the delight of the audience and is thrilled to be performing with Sid and his band for her second Sip & Swing Sunday.

Doors open at 2pm * Showtimes are 2:30 and 4:30 * Tickets are $15 (see reservations link) * Age restricted to 21+ * Dress to impress!

Make a day of it – come early and enjoy a late lunch (or early dinner) at one of the vendors in the upscale Park Square Market food court. Two of our favorites are Hawt Pizza and Kulantro. Delicious!

Babydoll’s is where Albuquerque’s true music lovers gather. An elegant, adult sanctuary for the crowd who values connection, craft, and a sound that truly stirs the senses. We can’t wait to welcome you at Babydoll's House of Jazz & Blues, where the music is the thing!