Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ethel Waters: The Best Of Ethel Waters

193

Ethel Waters: The Best Of Ethel Waters

By

View read count
She was one of the first jazz singers ever to record. The reissued tracks on Columbia’s superb compilation were originally released between December 1925 and November 1940. Here, the clear sound quality of her voice and the balanced, all star accompaniment beside her makes The Best Of Ethel Waters a fine addition to the CD library.

Show tunes carried Waters from honky-tonks to Broadway and Hollywood. With “Stormy Weather” from Cotton Club Parade of 1933, she was noticed by the public. Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Bunny Berigan, Joe Venuti and others accompany her in a deeply heartfelt interpretation. The magnetic attraction of her voice appears in both early blues themes and later showstoppers.

The 1925 recording of “Maybe Not At All” proves interesting, since her accompanists are Pearl Wright on piano, Joe Smith on cornet, and Coleman Hawkins on baritone saxophone. For that piece, Waters moves confidently through a suite of changing interpretations with a knowing gleam in her eye. Both in all-star format and with large studio orchestras, this entertaining vocal compilation provides a knowledgeable look at Waters and what she could do with a show tune.

Track Listing

Heat Wave; I Just Couldn

Personnel

Ethel Waters- vocals; Joe Smith- cornet; Bunny Berigan, Sterling Bose, Manny Klein, Shirley Clay, Charlie Teagarden- trumpet; Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey- trombone; Jimmy Dorsey- clarinet, alto saxophone; Larry Binyon- clarinet, tenor saxophone; Benny Goodman- clarinet; Art Karle- tenor saxophone; Coleman Hawkins- baritone saxophone; Dick McDonough, Tony Colucci- guitar; Joe Sullivan, Rube Bloom, Fulton McGrath, Frank Signorelli, Pearl Wright- piano; Joe Tarto, Artie Bernstein- bass; Stan King, Gene Krupa- drums; Joe Venuti, Harry Hoffman, Walt Edelstein, Lou Kosloff, Ben Selvin- violin; others.

Album information

Title: The Best Of Ethel Waters | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Columbia Records


About Ethel Waters

Tags


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Become a Sustaining Member

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.

More

Airborn
Eddie Parker's Airborn With Rob Luft
Slow Down For Turtles
Luca Benedetti
Relocate
Andres Thor
A Distant Land
Rich Halley 4

Popular

Desolation Row
David Maranha / Rodrigo Amado
2014 NYC
King Crimson
Beneath Lifted Skies
Linda May Han Oh & Melissa Aldana
Talamanti
Patricia Brennan and Sylvie Courvoisier

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.