Carmen Mcrae, Jazz Great

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Carmen McRae, the veteran jazz singer hailed for her innovative scat singing and skillful vocal technique, has died. She was 74.

Ms. McRae died at 9 p.m. yesterday at her home, family members and her secretary said. She had fallen into a semi-coma four days earlier, a month after she was hospitalized for a stroke, said her secretary and friend, Jan March.

"She said, `I don't want a memorial. I don't want a funeral. I don't want flowers. All I want to be remembered for is my music,' " March said. "That was her whole world."

Last December, the National Endowment for the Arts named Ms. McRae one of its "masters of jazz." A citation hailed her "instinctive feeling for rhythm, her skillful vocal technique, her innovative scat singing, as well as her relaxed manner of presentation." She was an accomplished piano player as well as singer.

Jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine today called Ms. McRae "the last great stylist of her time. . . . She was spicy. She was Carmen. And she didn't hesitate to speak her mind."

Ms. McRae was one of the best-known female jazz vocalists.