Dinah

This 1957 LP features the great singer Dinah Washington on a variety of "greatest hits" dating back to 1943. The blues-oriented material includes "Evil Gal Blues," "Trouble in Mind," "TV Is the Thing This Year," and "New Blowtop Blues," and was taken from five different sessions spanning a decade. This accessible effort serves as a fine introduction to the spirited early style of Washington.

Dinah Washington's first solo recordings (with the exception of a session supervised by Lionel Hampton in 1943) are included on this Delmark repackaging of her Apollo sides. Recorded in Los Angeles during a three-day period, the 12 selections feature the singer with a swinging jazz combo that has tenor-saxophonist Lucky Thompson, trumpeter Karl George, vibraphonist Milt Jackson and bassist Charles Mingus among its eight members. The 21-year-old Washington was already quite distinctive at this early stage and easily handles the blues and jive material with color and humor. Recommended despite the brevity (35 minutes) of the CD.

Dinah Washington was known as the essential rhythm & blues singer of her time, but only Sarah Vaughan eclipsed her in terms of jazz ballad artistry. This collection of torch songs, taken from her recordings on the Mercury and EmArcy labels, is evidence enough of her status as "the Queen." Arrangements by Quincy Jones, Ernie Wilkins, and Fred Norman in big band or small group sessions are quite attractive and complement her distinctive voice. Six are with string arrangements and two with vocal group backup (the Dells,) but every cut is a quintessential. Great soloists like Clifford Brown, Al Cohn, Kai Winding, Cannonball Adderley, and Clark Terry are included in this set, the best songs being "Since I Fell for You," "Willow Weep for Me," "Stardust," "More Than You Know," "Unforgettable," and "Goodbye."

One of America's most popular entertainers long after her mid-'40s commercial peak, Dinah Shore was the first major vocalist to break away from the big-band format and begin a solo-billed career. During the '40s, she recorded several of the decade's biggest singles - "Buttons and Bows," "The Gypsy," and "I'll Walk Alone" - all of which spent more than a month at number one on the Hit Parade. After launching a television variety series in 1951, Shore appeared on one program or another, with few gaps, into the 1980s.

Dinah Washington cut a lot of sides in two decades of recording. However, her straight jazz sessions were few and far between because of the mass popular and commercial appeal that she had as a pop singer. Still, the versatile Dinah thrived in just about any setting and the one provided here in 1955 by the gifted Chicago producer Bob Shad showcases her intimate side to perfection.
Since Dinah Washington just about invented gospel-based soulful singing, it's thrilling to hear her at the peak of her powers backed by a small group that includes trumpeter Clark Terry and pianist Wynton Kelly. The session is also graced by Quincy Jones' tidy arrangements…

Although a little slim at 45 minutes, Verve's compilation of 11 romantic titles recorded by Dinah Washington includes some of her finest material. Concentrating on the mid- to late '50s, Dinah Washington for Lovers surveys the years when she finally bloomed as a popular purveyor of adult vocal jazz. Surprisingly, it doesn't include the most popular ballad of her career, "What a Diff'rence a Day Made," but Washington had a certain way with standards that never fails to delight; no other vocal interpreter can make listeners contemplate lyrics anew even after they've heard it enough times to memorize. While most of the selections here feature the rosy strings and orchestra that Washington preferred late in her career, a pair of mellow ballads ("Darn That Dream" and "Crazy He Calls Me") come from a very different type of recording, her 1954 jam session landmark, Dinah Jams.