Search - Lee Wiley :: Time on My Hands

* THE EARTHY & ELEGANT LEE WILEY *

12/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Showing a big influence from Ethel Waters and personal friend Mildred Bailey, Lee Wiley was, in turn, an influence on Billie Holiday and Miss Peggy Lee, (among countless others). Listening to the sophisticated glow of Miss Wiley's voice on tunes such as Looking At You and Body And Soul, one almost gets the sensation of sipping champagne in some gilded Manhattan penthouse, though it's obvious that much more is happening beneath the surface. Wiley's voice is filled with potent emotion, and its delicate rasp imbues it with an earthy realness, helping her to handle tunes such as Stormy Weather and Sweet And Lowdown with remarkable effectiveness. Focusing on tone, phrasing, and emotion, rather than climbing all over the scales, Miss Wiley's singing is both earthy and elegant, both sophisticated and playful...often all at once. Lee Wiley was not only a great singer, she also possessed a remarkable musical mind. Miss Wiley claimed to have co-written Ghost Of A Chance, (though she is uncredited), and was co-author of Down To Steamboat Tennessee, Any Time, Any Day, Anywhere, and South In My Soul. South In My Soul was even given the Boswell Sisters' treatment, (see The Boswell Sisters Collection, Vol. 1, on Storyville), some two months before Wiley's own 1932 recording. Wiley was also one of the first to realize the importance of the great early 20th century songwriters, and was the FIRST to record sets of songs centered around single composers, in the now familiar "song book" format. More can be read about Lee Wiley in Will Friedwald's Jazz Singing.This collection features a range of work spanning from 1932 to 1951, with generally good sound quality. Throughout the listener is presented with a number of great standards and semi-standards by the likes of Gershwin, Vincent Youmans, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, and Harold Arlen. The musical company she kept was yet another sign of Lee Wiley's intelligence, and she is joined here by a truly impressive list of jazz musicians, including Max Kaminsky, Benny Goodman, Manny Klein, Bud Freeman, Joe Bushkin, Pee Wee Russell, Eddie Condon, Fats Waller, Bunny Berigan, Muggsy Spanier, Billy Butterfield, and Bob Haggart. It is astonishing to realize just how modern Miss Wiley sounded, even in the early thirties, and it is likewise wonderful to chart her development over the course of nearly twenty years. This set could serve as a fine introduction to Lee Wiley, though if anyone plans on building a comprehensive collection of her music, they may want to go directly to something like Night in Manhattan/Sings Vincent Youmans/Sings Irving Berlin (1950 & '51), or the phenomenal Completists Ultimate Collection series instead."