Search - Etta Jones :: Always in Our Hearts: Etta Jones As We Loved Her

A Treasure

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 04/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oh, my God! Am I really the first one to review this? Well, that's a pretty good indication of just how underrated a jazz singer Etta Jones was. In spite of her big hit from the early '60's, "Don't Go to Strangers" (which is probably more associated with Nancy Wilson, in any event), Miss Etta never really got the recognition she was truly due.



This c.d. is a treasure. Released in 2004 on High Note, it is a compilation of previously released material from the last 5 years of Ms. Jones' performing career and life (which ended in 2001).



Etta Jones was truly a jazz singer. Everyone of these standards here reminds me of Louis Armstrong. Just like Satch, Ms. Jones takes the melody, bends it, straightens it out, swings it, and makes it something singable, new and cool.



And listen to how she knocks off Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow", for example. When she directly tributes Lady Day, Ms. Jones sounds even more like her than Madeleine Peyroux, basically because she has Billie's bite.



With such players as Russell Malone, Norman Simmons, and Producer Houston Person, among many others, you just can't go wrong with this. If you've never heard Etta Jones before, this is as good a place as any to start. Highly recommended. RC"