Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942, New Rochelle, New York) is among the most versatile and charismatic jazz vocalists on the scene today. Her performances are marked by an artful blend of pop standards and straight-ahead jazz tunes. Introduced to jazz at a young age by her uncle Jimmy Burgess, she was only ten when she first performed at Harlem's Apollo Theater, receiving an enthusiastic reception in front of one of the world's toughest audiences. Shaw would later attend the New York State Teachers College in Potsdam (now known as the State University of New York at Potsdam) to study music but eventually dropped out of school, got married, and had five children. By the mid-'60s she was performing regularly for audiences in the Catskills, Playboy clubs, and other New York area clubs. In 1966, she recorded "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" for Cadet Records and in 1967, prompted by executives at Cadet, Shaw recorded the album "Out of Different Bags", reflecting a diversity of styles, including blues, jazz, and pop standards. She was later brought to the attention of bandleader Count Basie, and she ended up singing with the Basie band for four years.

In 1972, after leaving the Basie Orchestra, Shaw was the first female vocalist signed to Blue Note Records, and she toured for a while with the late Sammy Davis Jr. Shaw went on to record five more albums and several singles for Blue Note, and critics likened her singing style to Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan.