Keely Smith

Ol' Blue Eyes is always ripe for a top-notch, big-band-flavored tribute, but how many who take on the daunting task knew him as well as his contemporary, whom Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. once dubbed "the female Sinatra"? And in case you don't know the history, Frank Sinatra Jr.'s liner notes and numerous archival photos of Smith with Sinatra fill you in. Smith recorded this prior to the legend's passing in 1998 and even had his thumbs up on the project, but held back its release so as not to appear to be capitalizing on the Sinatramania which followed his death. With the ample and energetic backing of the Frankie Capp Orchestra, Smith does him proud on 18 chestnuts from his catalog, her voice clear and honest, her phrasing sharp and emotional…

There's no way Keely Smith will ever be able to escape the long shadow of Louis Prima, whose fourth wife she was and who led the band where she found her greatest fame. Heard apart from Prima, she was a fantastic vocalist, the equal of more respected singers like Chris Connor or Helen Merrill, who were working a much different circuit than Smith during the late '50s and early '60s. The Essential Capitol Collection is an excellent way to survey Keely Smith's early career; it includes 27 songs, including much of her several LPs for the label, as well as her most popular duets with Prima and two with Frank Sinatra.

Italian-American singer, actor, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter, Louis Prima (1910-1978) was rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing, and jump blues, but he touched on various other genres throughout his career. From the 1940s through the 1960s, when these recordings were made, his music further encompassed early R&B, rock'n'roll, boogie-woogie, and even Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. In 1954 Prima was offered a long-term engagement at The Sahara in Las Vegas to open his new act with singer Keely Smith (born in 1928, she is 89 at this writing). He enlisted New Orleans saxophonist Sam Butera (1927-2009) and his backing musicians, ''The Witnesses''. The act was a hit, and ultimately led Prima to sign with Capitol Records in 1955. The present concert performance at The Sahara, immortalized on the LP Las Vegas Prima Style (Capitol Records - T-1010), was taped by Prima in 1958 with Keely and Butera, and is presented here in its entirety.

Louis Prima & Keely Smith - Breaking It Up (1953) {Columbia–Legacy CK65259 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 202 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 89 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1951-53, 1998 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | CK 65259
Jazz / Jump Blues / Swing / Big Band

In late 1951, Louis Prima was hot on the heels of a comeback success the year before with "Oh Babe!," and a record so big that it spawned numerous cover versions by everyone from Wynonie Harris and Lionel Hampton to Kay Starr and even a Spanish language version by Lalo Guerrero ("Chitas Patas Boogie" on Imperial and used in the movie Zoot Suit with Edward James Olmos). After three follow-ups went nowhere (one of which was the immortal "Zooma Zooma"), Prima came to Columbia Records and was handed over to A&R chief Mitch Miller. And here was part of the problem. Prima's audience liked a cruder Louis and were used to records cut on shoestring budgets with production values that were as raw as the music they framed, while Miller's production was state-of-the-art squeaky-clean.

Excellent collection of classics! Every major artist of the forties thru the sixties performs on this box set. It will take a while to go through all 200 songs but what a joy and value.
The sound quality is just excellent. I have never heard these classics from the 40/50's resonate so clear and clean before, a real treat.

A tireless showman and an underrated musical talent, Louis Prima swung his way to icon status thanks to an irresistible, infectious sound whose appeal translated across generations. Nominally a swing artist, Prima's distinctive sound also encompassed New Orleans-style jazz, boogie-woogie, jump blues, R&B, early rock & roll, and even the occasional Italian tarantella.