Search - Various Artists :: Masters of Jazz 5: Female Vocal Classics

Thirty years of jazz, by seventeen well known stars of jazz

Mary Whipple | New England | 04/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With eighteen tracks by seventeen different female jazz singers--Ella Fitzgerald has two tracks--this CD is a terrific introduction to jazz by the women who made it their own. Beginning in 1937 with Mildred Bailey and 1939 with Billie Holliday, and extending to Betty Carter in 1962 and Nina Simone in 1963, this CD has a full range of vocal styles, musical philosophies, and types of accompaniment.



All the tracks are outstanding examples of the styles of these singers, and every track is a winner in its own right, but several showstoppers dominate: Ella Fitzgerald's "Smooth Sailing," with Hank Jones on piano is one of the all-time great scat treatments, certainly the best I've ever heard from Ella, who pioneered this style. June Christie never sounded better than she does on "Something Cool," and Nancy Wilson's "Guess Who I Saw Today," a dramatic song that she makes her own, is full of pathos and restrained emotion.



If the intention of this CD was to hook a jazz lover on new or less familiar jazz artists, then it certainly succeeded. Gloria Lynne, who sometimes sounds like the precursor of Aretha Franklin, lets her whole voice fly in "Love, I've Found You." Etta Jones, a singer I'd never heard before, is astonishing in "Don't Go to Strangers," and Betty Carter, one of my faves, in "'Round Midnight," is at her peak.



Fortunately, the Amazon MarketPlace has many older CDs by all these sometimes neglected artists, and, as a result, at least one listener will be hearing a lot more from Gloria Lynne and Etta Jones, with Nina Simone next up. Showing a full range of styles from 1937 - 1963, this is certainly a recording which will whet your appetite for many of the lesser known greats. n Mary Whipple



The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duets (Live at the Great American Music Hall)

A Proper Introduction to Ella Fitzgerald: Smooth Sailing

The Best of Etta Jones: The Prestige Singles

Starry Eyes: The Collection







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