Diana Ross

Diana Ross: Blue

by Samuel Chell
July 15, 2006

This album is an eye-opener, especially after all the negative press and peer criticism that followed the R&B queen's starring role in the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues: her portrayal of America's foremost tragic jazz diva, as well as her impersonation of a music persona of cult-like proportions in the inner, exclusive circles of the “hip" jazz world.

But the evidence on this long-suppressed disc from the same era is compelling. Ross did her homework, absorbing everything about the ...

Diana Ross: Blue

by R. Emmet Sweeney
May 27, 2006

In late 1971, after Diana Ross completed filming the Billie Holiday bio-pic Lady Sings the Blues, Motown put her in the studio to record an album of jazz standards to coincide with the movie's release. The material was shelved after the producers decided to keep Ross on the pop-star track, which soon produced the #1 hit “Touch Me in the Morning."This summer Motown is releasing that long-lost album, entitled Blue. A welcome attempt to cash in on the ...

Diana Ross-Touch Me in the Morning

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 1, 2010

It's a mistake for jazz fans to compare Diana Ross to jazz vocalists. Ross' intonation, timbre and roots all come from a completely different place. Her Lady Sings the Blues (1972) drew praise from jazz circles, and it was a big seller. But to me, Ross as Billie Holiday always felt inconceivable and forced. Too much lady, not enough blues. Rather, I much prefer Ross in her zone, notably on her early solo albums--where she delivered a pleading, kittenish sound ...
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