Search - Anita O'Day :: Anita Sings the Most

Anita with Oscar is truly magnificent...

Aaron | Aaron | 03/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All of Anita O'Day's verve's are worth picking up, including this one with Oscar Peterson's combo. Anita glides though a set of jazz standards, they swing smoothly together and as always Miss O'Day improvises and swings. It is always a joy to hear Miss O'Day's scatting and her highly appealing phrasing, with the added pleasure of Oscar Peterson on the keys. This CD reissue of the original lp is highly recommeded as are all of her Verve re-issues. Lastly go and see her live next time you're in California, she often plays the Club Atlas in LA."

Simply Put, She's The Best.

Gloria Carpenter | New York, New York USA | 08/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a jazz fan, but not a fan of jazz vocals, I can not recommend this album more highly. Anita is IT! In my opinion she blows away anyone who ever tried to sing a jazz standard. Hipper than Ella, more lyrical than Sarah, Anita had an emotional depth that only Billy could rival. But Billy isn't even in the same hemisphere when it comes to technique. And unlike many of the so-called jazz vocalists, Anita never resorted to gimmicky licks or tricks. But when she scats...look out! This is the real deal -- not the scoobally-doo-bop nonsense too often passed off as "improvisation". Every note rings true with a tone sent from the gods. The gal could SWING! This album is a must for an serious jazz fan and any fan of great singing. Buy it -- or lose out on hearing one of the great artists of the 20th century."

A Good Match

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 09/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of my first experiences hearing jazz live was catching Anita O'Day at a small club in Seattle. As little as I understood about the music at the time, it was abundantly clear that she was unhappy with her pianist and that he would have preferred being anywhere but in the company of this snarling prima donna who was holding him up to public humiliation. Years later I heard a musician tell the story about Anita calling "Tea for Two" in one of her typically torrid up-tempos and in the key of A. After the pianist had played the song through, setting up the vocal, Anita suddenly turned to him and said, "Modulate to A flat" (the standard key of the tune).So why not pair one of the world's most fastidious and demanding singers with the world's greatest living pianist? The concept behind this album was a winner from the start, and its realization is in no way disappointing. Oscar is at his swinging best, and Anita has her choice of tempos, keys, and unique spins on familiar standards. She's at once hot, cool, sexy, cold--as only Anita can be--but she's always the ace musician, in complete, domineering control in her uniquely laid-back, slightly "hung-over" style of elocution.Not quite as satisfying as Anita's "Pick Yourself Up," this album is nonetheless another of the many rewarding sessions coupling Verve's "house" rhythm section with a jazz star. The greatest delights? The medium-tempo version of "We'll Be Together Again" and the overplayed but not oversung "Stella by Starlight." The biggest disappointment? On the "Rodgers and Hart Songbook" Ella sings the complete and uncensored lyrics to "Bewitched," whereas on this recording Anita sings the straight, cleaned-up, traditional version. Somebody must have switched the envelopes."