Ernestine Anderson: I Love Being Here with You

This nicely packaged, but hard to follow (I'm still not completely sure who's playing what on which CD) two CD set compiles excerpts from four live performances by Ernestine Anderson, mostly as a guest. The album covers three live performances from 1987 and one from 1990, when the singer was doing some very good work. The CD 2 is a complete replication of the Live at the 1990 Jazz Festival album. Since as far as I know, this album is still available, why it is included here is a bit of a mystery to me. CD 1 is the far more engaging of the two. One of the compilations's highlights for me is Anderson's appearance with the Frank Capp/Nat Pierce Juggernaut Band from Live at the Alley Cat. This was the last of that high flying big band's albums due to the death of co-leader Nat Pierce. Anderson did four numbers on that album. The work on the "Street of Dreams" and "I Let a Song Go out of My Heart" is recommendation enough to run out and try and located that Frankie Capp/Nat Pierce CD. At one point during his career, pianist George Shearing seemed determined to record with just about every singer he could get his arms around. He cornered Anderson for two cuts on his 1987 release Dexterity. He and Shearing come together nicely on the cuts on which Anderson appears, "As Long As I Live" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love". The other album on this medley, again from 1987, and this time features the Concord All-Stars with such luminaries as Dave McKenna, Red Holloway and Dan Barrett occupying seats. There are three cuts from this album, with Anderson and McKenna working out on "I Love Being Here with You" the top item.

This album will certainly appeal to Anderson's many fans as well as to those who just love a good singer behind a good band especially the Capp/Pierce outfit.