Nancy Wilson

The Soul Music label's extensive Nancy Wilson reissue series continues with the singer's 20th and 21st albums for the Capitol label: The Sound of Nancy Wilson and Nancy. The first of the two, released in 1968, was led by the number 24 Billboard R&B single "Peace of Mind" and a powerful ballad finale in "Black Is Beautiful." The latter, a more stylistically varied album released in 1969, boasts the number 44 R&B single "You'd Better Go" and the brisk pop of "In a Long White Room." Both sets were produced by David Cavanaugh with arranging and conducting from Jimmy Jones. This is another loving, fan-pleasing release of long-out-of-print Wilson titles.

Excelling at the art of blues balladry demands that a musician possess great feeling but also great control. No surprise then, that one of its greatest practitioners, Nancy Wilson, has both traits in abundance. Save Your Love for Me: Nancy Wilson Sings the Great Blues Ballads is one in a loose series of three Capitol compilations to compile her late-'50s and early-'60s prime, the others focusing on the Great American Songbook and the torch song.

Diva Nancy Wilson was among contemporary music's most stylish and sultry vocalists; while often crossing over into the pop and R&B markets – and even hosting her own television variety program – she remained best known as a jazz performer, renowned for her work alongside figures including Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing.

Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley - Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley (1961) {Capitol Jazz rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 244 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 105 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1993 Capitol Jazz | CDP 0777 7 81204 2 1
Jazz / Standards / Vocal Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Saxophone

An excellent collaboration of Nancy Wilson's voice with Cannonball Adderley's alto sax from the early '60s. While this 1961 recording was the first time Wilson was with Adderley in the studio, it was not the first time they had worked together. After singing with Rusty Bryant's band, Wilson had worked with Adderley in Columbus, Ohio. (It was there that Adderley encouraged her to go to N.Y.C. to do some recording, eventually leading to this session.) Not entirely a vocal album, five of the 12 cuts are instrumentals.

Nancy Wilson's not the first name in bluesy jazz (check out Dinah Washington and Joe Williams for that), but she usually can enliven the form with her sophisticated and sultry style. That's made clear on her rendition of "Stormy Monday Blues," where she eschews blues clichés in favor of a husky airiness, at once referencing a lowdown mood and infusing it with a sense of buoyancy. This split is nicely essayed on Capitol's Blues and Jazz Sessions, as half the tracks ooze with Wilson's cocktail blues tone and the other find the jazz-pop chanteuse in a summery and swinging mood. Ranging from the big band blues of "I've Got Your Number" to the lilting bossa nova "Wave," Wilson handles all the varying dynamics and musical settings with aplomb. Featuring cuts from her '60s prime with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Oliver Nelson, George Shearing, Gerald Wilson, and a host of top sidemen, this best-of disc offers a fine, off-the-beaten-path overview of Wilson's Capitol heyday.