Dave Rickert
April 2002

Combing the Catalog
Archive <& /articles/verv_archive.tmp &>

By David Rickert

Body and Soul
Billie Holiday
1957/2002

Lady Day recorded Body and Soul two years before her death, when the ghosts were already beginning to creep in. Although not as obviously flawed as Lady In Satin, Holiday still seems to be struggling to get every note out, her voice coarse and bruised over a relatively obvious song selection with few surprises. Don’t get this CD for the singing; get it for the sidemen, who steal the show on every track. It would be difficult to put together a group that fires on all cylinders as consistently as this one does; right from the start, Edison’s tart trumpeting serves as a worthy foil to Webster’s gentle probing. The West Coast gentlemen who comprise the rhythm section seem positively eager and provide enthusiastic accompaniment that props up the lackluster singing while providing a firm bedrock for a series of magnificent solos by all involved. For fans of Holiday, Body and Soul shows a great singer who has lost her luster. The sidemen, however, are pure gold.

Sings Comden and Green
Blossom Dearie
1959/2002

Blossom Dearie sits just shy of being a cocktail jazz singer, frequently indulging in novelty tunes and kitsch in the studio. When she turns her innocent charm to more serious material, the results are often stellar. This session (yet another entry into the inexhaustible Verve Song Book concept) features Dearie working with tunes featuring the lyrics of Comden and Green. Norman Granz had so much faith in Dearie that he always provided her with support from excellent sidemen, like Brown and Thigpen, who quietly swing behind Dearie’s fragile, innocent voice. The sparse piano accompaniment (also by Dearie) suits her delivery superbly, emphasizing the lyrics. Wisely just when the concept starts to wear thin, Burrell steps in to contribute to the last few tracks, nimbly adding supple guitar lines in his familiar inimitable fashion, culminating in the quietly powerful “Lonely Town”. Blossom Dearie is still charming audiences today; this session is a reminder of her lasting appeal.

Now Singing In 12 Great Movies
Billy Eckstine
1962/2002

In the 1950s someone came up with the bight idea of including pop songs in movie soundtracks, creating three minute jingles that would essentially serve as advertisements for the movies when heard on the radio. This strategy has given us timeless classics like “Moon River” and “Tonight” (as well as timeless junk like “My Heart Will Go On”). Billy Eckstine and company have selected the best of the era for this session of movie hits. Sonically, this album is similar to the recent reissue of Sarah Vaughan’s Viva Vaughan, another recording that makes use of arrangements by Billy Byers. Byers’ warm, breezy charts, which sounded modern at the time, today give the album a nostalgic, dated feel that recalls the days of the bachelor pad hi-fi. Many of these songs come from movies set in foreign lands, and Byers has recruited accordions and Latin percussion to capture the atmosphere. None of this would work well if Eckstine wasn’t such an appealing talent, his earnest, golden-toned voice turning every moment into magic. “Moon River” is probably the least sappy version of the tune ever recorded and even “Tonight”, intended for a female voice, comes off quite well. After Broadway provided jazz with countless indelible melodies, this record demonstrates that movies (at least for a time) were quite up to the task as well.

Billie Holiday-Body and Soul
Tracks: Body and Soul; They Can’t Take That Away From Me; Darn That Dream; Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off; Comes Love; Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You?; Embraceable You; Moonlight in Vermont; Comes Love (false start); Comes Love (false start); Comes Love (alternate take).
Personnel: Billie Holiday-vocals; Harry “Sweets” Edison-trumpet; Ben Webster-tenor saxophone; Jimmy Rowles-piano; Barney Kessel-guitar; Red Mitchell-bass; Larry Bunker, Alvin Stoller-drums.

Blossom Dearie-Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Green
Tracks: Lucky To Be Me; Just In Time; Some Other Time; Dance Only With Me; I Like Myself; The Party’s Over; How Will We Know; It’s Love; Hold Me, Hold Me, Hold Me; Lonely Town.
Personnel: Blossom Dearie-piano, vocals; Kenny Burrell-guitar; Ray Brown-bass; Ed Thigpen-drums.

Billy Eckstine-Now Singing in 12 Great Movies
Tracks: More (Theme From Mondo Cane); The High and the Mighty; Moon River; Never On Sunday; Tender Is the Night; Mahna de Carnival (Morning of the Carnival); A Felicidade (Adieu Tristesse); Three Coins in the Fountain; Days of Wine and Roses; On Green Dolphin Street; My Own True Love; The Good Life; Tonight.
Personnel: Billy Eckstine-vocal; with orchestra including Bobby Tucker-piano, conductor; and Billy Byers-arranger.

Verve on the web: http://www.verveinteractive.com