With a crystalline voice inspired by none other than Ella Fitzgerald, London jazz singer Cherise Adams-Burnett makes a spectacular film debut fronting a hot combo in the popular movie, Downton Abbey: A New Era. The 26-year-old Cherise is a second-generation descendant of Jamaican grandparents.
Set in 1928, the new film is a sequel to 2019’s Downton Abbey, which itself was inspired by the award-winning British historical television drama which ran for six seasons.
The plot revolves around rumors about the early life of Grantham’s Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, portrayed on her deathbed by the legendary Maggie Smith. An intriguing subplot brings a silent film crew into the abbey where they stubbornly struggle to embrace the new era in motion pictures: Talkies.
Costumed in a sparkling blue gown accented by blue beads, blue elbow-length gloves and a blue feathered hat piece, Cherise wildly entertains the wealthy Crawleys and their movie-crew guests on an outdoor stage in two different scenes, one on a sunny afternoon and another after dark.
Emmy Award-winning Scottish composer John Lunn—a former jazz bassist and musical director of the movie—chose three can’t-miss Jazz Age standards for Cherise to vocalize, and she gave them her all. Backed onscreen by four unidentified Black musicians, Cherise makes “Crazy Rhythm” a tour de force of pulsating phrasing. Her sweet sopra
