Cassandra Willson 1955-2026

Cassandra Wilson was one of the more highly regarded jazz singers of her time, which ended just recently at age 70. A fiercely independent artist whose career was long and varied, she became most famous for her jazz covers of blues, rock and pop tunes, but was equally respected for her own well-crafted songwriting, often in collaboration with select others.

She was not an overnight success. From 1985-1992, she made seven records for the JMT label, one Japan-only release, and one for DIW/Columbia. Most of this time she was associated with New York's M-Base collective headed by Steve Coleman and focused on improvisation within a funk-jazz-soul hybrid. These early records received some critical praise, but did not sell particularly well until she recorded her first of three standards records, the beautiful Blue Skies in 1988. Recorded with Mulligrew Miller on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, and a young Terri Lynne Carrington on drums, Wilson quietly turned ten classics from the great American songbook into priceless performances. The supporting trio was exceptional, and Wilson's contralto delivered smokey, sensual versions of every song. She continued recording for JMT, making five more records with the label. Live and She Who Weeps (both 1991) charted and were somewhat successful. Unfortunately, her JMT period releases are not available for streaming, though that may change now that she has passed. A few of the Blue Skies songs show up on the Sings Standards 2002 compilation,

Then in 1993 she signed with Blue Note, and debuted the blues-pop-country-world music jazz blend that would become her trademark on the highly successful Blue Light 'Til Dawn. In 1995 she repeated the formula on New Moon Daughter, which went to #1 on the jazz charts, received broad critical acclaim, and won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

1997 saw here return to standards on Rendezvoux with pianist Jacky Terresson. It's good, but whether it's Terresson's arrangements, his playing, or the choice of material, it pales in comparison to Blue Skies. Next up Traveling Miles 1999, a bold move to cover Miles Davis songs and in several instances, to add lyrics to his songs. It is hit and miss, with moments both sublime and baffling. But you've got to respect her for taking the project on, and it sold well and charted high.

Belly of the Sun 2002 is a classic eclectic collection of songs for reinterpretation. Covering Robbie Robertson, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Jimmy Web, Robert Johnson, and others, and including four Wilson originals, some listeners wondered "Is this jazz?" The answer to that question only matters to high brow snobs. It's a solid record with few imperfect moments, but that happens sometimes when you still take chances, and Wilson does indeed take chances.

Glamoured 2003 continues the hot streak. Wilson writes half the songs while the rest is well-chosen, thoughtfully arranged covers. Producer and guitarist Fabrizio Sotti leads a keyboardless ensemble and brings out the best in Wilson. Almost everything works, and her version of If Loving You Is Wrong elevates an already classic song. Glamoured does not mean dolled up, it means enchanted, bewitched, and the title is perfect.

Produced by T-Bone Burnett, Keefus Ciancia and J.D. Foster, Thunderbird 2006 is Wilson's least jazz-like record, and continued to alienate her original "real" jazz fan base. Too many keyboards and electronics get in the way of her usual sound, but the record is still good. Just not quite as good as her best work.

Wilson returns to standards on Loverly 2008, and it is among her better work, and won her another Grammy. Jason Moran's piano, Marvin Sewell's guitar, and frequent contributor Lonnie Plaxico on bass lead a fine ensemble which also stars Nigerian percussionist Lekan Babalola. They are different in personnel and approach, but this one and Blue Skies are equally great records of standards.

Sewell and Babalola return for Silver Pony in 2010, along with John Batiste, Reginald Veal, and Herlin Riley, an all-star band that shines on a seamless mix of live and studio recordings. The record received somewhat mixed reviews, which surprised me, as I felt it was an excellent outing that leaned a bit more toward jazz, with less jazz-pop than her recent work. There are several longer songs that feature the band as much as the vocals, and it's a great band.

Another Country 2012 is a collaboration between Wilson and Fabrizio Scotti (see Glamoured above). They write and produce all of the songs together, and Scotti again plays guitar throughout. It's a different record from most of her work, and it is special in many ways. The two artists complement each other very well.

Her last recording, 2015's Coming Forth By Day is a tribute to Billie Holiday. Wilson does it her way, though, and never attempts to imitate Lady Day. Instead Wilson interprets and reimagines eleven songs by and/or associated with Holiday. Martyn Casey on bass and Thomas Wydler on drums, the rhythm section from Nick Cave's Bad Seeds, lay down a bluesy base while multiple guitarists and other talented musicians build an unusually atmospheric pallet for Wilson to color. Producer Nick Launay adds strings on the ballads, and it all adds up to a different sounding Cassandra Wilson record. But her distinctive voice and phrasing keep it very much in her wheelhouse, and mark the end of her career on a high note.

In all of this, Wilson's smokey contralto and sinuous and sensual delivery are what make her records so spellbinding. Her frequent use of guitars and interesting percussion over keyboards give her records a distinct flavor that is her own. A distinctive voice and an independent artist with a clear vision for her work made some of the best records of the last three decades. 

I had the pleasure of seeing her live twice, and I was in awe each time. As great as many of her records are, her live show was mesmerizing.

Jazz

I'm a lightweight when it comes to jazz. BeBop, Hard Bop, Fusion, Free Jazz, Modal Jazz, they all chase me away with aggressive and/or chaotic music, loud and frenzied horns. I've heard lots of those styles, and I can appreciate even what I do not enjoy. But I'm more of a Cool Jazz, West Coast Jazz, Pop-Jazz type of guy. I like female jazz singers, classic trios from the fifties and sixties, and generally more mellow, less challenging fare. This isn't a list of the finest jazz, and I'm not qualified for that list. But I think these are all very good records, and they strike a chord with me. I went through the stacks looking for my favorites. All of these records get played frequently around here.

Karrin Allyson In Blue 2002 There's a theme, and it is done brilliantly. 

George Benson The Other Side of Abbey Road 1970 Odd choice, odd record. Fascinating reinterpretation.

Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue 1963 Bluesy jazz guitar from a master.

Eva Cassidy Live At Blues Alley 1996 An amazing voice. Jazz-pop of the highest order.

Nat King Cole After Midnight 1957/2006 The trio with soloists on most songs. Cole's voice and piano are smooth as silk. The reissued 2 LP version from 2006 is sonic nirvana, but it will be great however you get to hear it.

John Coltrane My Favorite Things 1961 Not many sax players on this list, but this is irresistible.

Bill Evans Sunday at the Village Vanguard 1961 One of the two greatest piano trios at the top of their game. All the praise of Scott Lafaro is well-deserved. 

Bill Frisell Good Dog, Happy Man 1999 There's plenty of great Frisell records, this is my pick.

Melody Gardot My One And Only Thrill 2009 Sensuous. 

Original Chico Hamilton Quartet Complete Studio Recordings 2006 West Coast jazz, mellow and distinctive. 

Milt Jackson and the Monty Alexander Trio Soul Fusion 1978 Fine jazz piano trio plus Jackson's vibes. Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton many years before they were Diana Krall's rhythm section.

John Handy Hard Work 1976 Funky jazz-blues.

Ahmad Jamal At The Pershing: But Not For Me 1958 The other of the two greatest piano trios. 

Norah Jones The Fall 2009 I'm not sure this is jazz, but it's my favorite of Jones' work.

Stacey Kent Breakfast On The Morning Tram 2007 Kazuo Ishiguro provides the lyrics for Jim Tomlinson's music on the four best tracks. The rest is well-chosen covers. Kent's singing is always the star. 

Diana Krall Live In Paris 2002 The voice, the piano chops, the amazing small combo. Wow.

Peggy Lee Ultimate Peggy Lee 2020 Great vinyl pressing that combines her Decca and Capitol recordings in one place.

Robin McKelle Mess Around 2010 The best singer you never heard in your life. 

Maceo Parker Roots and Grooves 2008 Maceo with the WRD Big Band Cologne do a tribute to Ray Charles and then give a master class in funk. Indispensable. 

Frank Sinatra In the Wee Small Hours 1955 The concept album is invented. And Frank sings every song perfectly.

Frank Sinatra Classic Sinatra- His Great Performances 1953-1960 2000 A fine compilation of Frank's greatest fifties hits for Columbia, his peak period.

Frank Sinatra Moonlight Sinatra 1966 Nelson Riddle and Sinatra on Frank's most woefully neglected album. Strangers In The Night came out three months later.

Cal Tjader Soul Sauce 1964 I just love vibes.

Allen Toussaint The Bright Mississippi 2009 Toussaint's late career masterpiece, and an all-star supporting cast.

Cassandra Wilson Blue Skies 1988 Wilson takes on the great American songbook. Mulgrew Miller, Lonnie Plaxico and Terri Lyne Carrington provide trio support.

Anouar Brahem The Astounding Eyes Of Rita 2009

There's almost no world music mentioned here. There are occasional jazz reviews, most of them quite mainstream popular. No free jazz or fusion. Nothing terribly challenging. This record by Anouar Brahem, a Tunisian oud (think eleven-string lute) player is a breathtakingly lovely blend of jazz with Arabic classical and folk music that is quietly intimate and deeply satisfying. It is a true amalgam of styles, creating something unique.

Brahem is accompanied here by German Klaus Gesing on bass clarinet, Swedish bassist Björn Meyer, and Lebanese percussionist Khaled Yassine. The music is quiet, etherial, and beautiful. This is not the music you hear at the masseuse, although that would be nice. It is very much more than that. The interplay of Brahem and Meyer is particularly special. They have that "two minds thinking together" thing that marks many of the best musical collaborations, whatever the style. Gesing mostly provides atmosphere, and Yassine's percussion is perfect for the setting. 

Describing the music is difficult. It is the opposite of frenetic. But it is not in any way boring, or "background music". It is serene, but there is a lot going on. Brahem's compositions unfold slowly, revealing themselves as they go. The musicians are working to complement and expand these works, always listening to each other as much as playing. 

If any of that sounds interesting, I highly recommend giving it a listen.

I listened to several other of Brahem's records, often with ensembles that include saxophone, piano, and/or accordion, and those instruments seem to overwhelm Brahem's oud more than the combination here. Maybe you'll like them as much as this one, but check this out first. It really is special.

Joni Mitchell Joni's Jazz 2025

In the last five years, Joni Mitchell's original work has been reissued in multiple box sets, and expanded in multiple box sets of live and previously unreleased material. Eight multi-disc sets have been issued as well as several single discs illuminating individual classic releases. The five Archive sets have presented 26 discs of live and previously unreleased material. It's a lot.

Joni's Jazz is a compilation 4-CD set that samples Mitchell's jazzier side, with only five tracks from before 1975's The Hissing of Summer Lawns, and with half of the tracks from 1994's Turbulent Indigo or later. If you're not fond of Mitchell's work in the nineties and oughts, this isn't the set for you. Or you might be surprised. 

Technically not everything is jazz, but close enough. Mitchell of course famously alienated her folk audience when she branched out into jazz and jazz-influenced styles in the late seventies. But the retrospective evaluations of her later works have been very complementary, and her singing shows that she is the real deal as a jazz singer. She also made most of this music with some of the finest jazz musicians in the business.

The music presented here is very good. Mitchell's later work holds up well. But what is most impressive about this set is the sequencing. It's not chronological. It's not consistently thematic. It took me several days to listen to the whole of it, and every time I restarted listening, I was taken aback at how well the songs sounded in the order they are presented. It would be a real shame to hit shuffle.

If you already own much of Mitchell's later work, this might be an unnecessary expense. But if that is you, I might suggest that you assemble a playlist of the songs in this order, and maybe purchase the individual tracks to fill the holes in your collection. There are only three songs which were released on other artists records, and only two that were previously unreleased.  

It is a wonderful set, artfully assembled with great care.

Allen Toussaint 1938-2016, Jon Cleary Occapella! 2012, Stanton Moore With You In Mind 2017

 

Allen Toussaint was a producer, songwriter, pianist, singer and arranger of skill and renown. He produced many hits for New Orleans artists in the sixties. He continued to produce for many non-New Orleans artists throughout the 20th century, and recorded twelve solo records. His late career solo output was outstanding, including The Bright Mississippi 2009, Songbook 2013 and American Tunes (2016).

His work is represented by many wonderful records. His own seventies output is summarized on The Allen Toussaint Collection 1991. His writing and producing can be enjoyed on Holy Cow! The Best of Lee Dorsey 1985, any of a number of Irma Thomas compilations such as Sweet Soul Queen of New Orleans: The Irma Thomas Collection 1996, or any of the fine records by The Meters, who were his house studio band for many years. He arranged the horns for The Band's great live Rock of Ages 1972.

Jon Cleary, a New Orleans transplant, made his delightful tribute Occapella! in 2012. The record features Cleary on all instruments on eight of the twelve songs. Like most New Orleans artists, Cleary is reverential, and having a real good time. You will, too.

 

Stanton Moore entered the studio in 2017 shortly after Toussaint's passing and cancelled previous plans for the session so he could honor Toussaint. His deft trio is joined by mostly New Orleans guests singing or playing horns on another selection of Toussaint's marvelous songbook. 

One of Allen Toussaint's famous compositions is Everything I Do Gone Be Funky. The title sums up his career. Dive into Allen Toussaint's output, and you gone be funky too.

Boz Scaggs Detour 2025

Boz Scaggs has been here before, and the results are always excellent in a very mellow, laid-back jazz way. But Beautiful 2003 and Speak Low 2008 were both fine late night jazz entrees, and this one is at least the equal of those outings.

Accompanied by a jazz piano trio, Scaggs sings everything with sensitivity and nuance normally reserved for the finest jazz vocalists. If you heard the two mentioned above, you already know that he can deliver jazz vocals as fine as everything else he does in soul, blues, and rock.

Song selection is a lovely dip into the great American songbook and features some songs that not everyone has recorded, at least not recently. There are familiar tunes (The Meaning of the Blues, The Very Thought of You, Angel Eyes) and there are less familiar ones (Detour Ahead, Once I Loved, Too Late Now) that set this collection apart from and above the usual jazz standards collection and makes it sound more interesting than dragging out only the oft-covered songs. In addition to the jazz there are two lovely surprises. Allen Toussaint's It's Raining opens the record, and the rendition is stellar in a quiet way. Scaggs' own I'll Be Long Gone from 1969 is included in an interesting arrangement that is lovely. 

Two things make this record special. One is Scaggs' voice, and the phrasing he has so clearly developed for jazz. The other is pianist Seth Asarnow, whose playing and arranging are sensitive and deft. 

Since 1969 Boz Scaggs has made nineteen records, and there isn't anything close to a disappointment in the catalog. Make that twenty.

Spinning Vinyl

This is the special Saturday night after-dinner nightcap version of Spinning Vinyl. After an outstanding Italian dinner, we returned home for a nightcap and a card game and some music, all featuring pianists. 

First up was side two of Diana Krall's From This Moment On 2006. There isn't anything earth-shattering about this particular Diana Krall Record, but it is a solid outing of standards featuring the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Krall's lovely voice and fine piano. It is a swell selection of songs performed flawlessly and arranged beautifully. Day In Day Out, Come Dance With Me, and Little Girl Blue stood out, but the whole side is just about perfect.

Next was Allen Toussaint's swan song American Tunes 2106, side one, featuring Toussaint's Delores' Boyfriend, Fats Waller's Viper's Drag, Professor Longhair's Mardi Gras In New Orleans, and Billy Strayhorn's Lotus Blossom, and everything works.The record is a mix of Toussaint solo piano recordings from 2013 and what would have been a new studio record that was unfinished before he died in 2015. The 2015 recordings are done with a stellar cast including Bill Frisell, Jay Belerose, Greg Leisz, Charles Lloyd, David Piltch, Adam Levy, and Van Dyke Parks. It is a wonderful Toussaint record, almost as good as his high water mark The Bright Mississippi 2009.

My wife and I are both huge fans of Ahmad Jamal. We both saw him live many moons ago and then had a chance to see him together in Seattle in 2006. I love his work from the fifties and sixties as much as any jazz pianist, and he continued to make great music in his rhythmically inventive style until 2019, just four years before his death at age 93. Saturday Morning 2013 is merely another of his great late career masterpieces. We listened to side one, with the title track and Back To The Future (both by Jamal) as well as I'll Always Be With You, the 1945 Perry Como hit.

Lastly we heard Ellis Marsalis' For All We Know 2020, side two. This recording is just outstanding, and Marsalis plays with his son Jason on vibes, who gets to shine frequently. The record, on the audiophile vinyl-only Newvelle records, has amazing sound, with both piano and vibraphone beautifully captured. Marsalis is a wonderfully fluid player, song selection is lovely, and we get to hear Marsalis' relaxed style one more time just months before his passing.

The one thing all these records have in common (other than piano) is great sound. Tommy LiPuma always made Krall's records sound great, as did Joe Henry on Toussaint's last three albums. Saturday Morning was recorded in France by some talented engineers using state of the art equipment, and everything on Newvelle Records is lovingly produced with attention to sonic detail. That doesn't matter if the music isn't up to the same high bar, but all of these performances are truly special.

John Handy Hard Work 1976

John Handy had a long and successful career in jazz beginning in the late 50s. He played with Charles Mingus on at least five albums between 1959 and 1964 while also recording as a leader. He continued as a leader, recording his own bands until 1996, and appeared on some twenty-five different albums, mostly under his own name. His early work was mainstream/post-bop jazz that was generally highly listenable yet still challenging. He also worked with Indian musicians as an early Indian music/jazz hybrid pioneer in the 70s and 80s. 

This one is a mix of jazz, R&B, blues, and funk, and became a surprise jazz and crossover hit for Handy, reaching #4 on the Billboard jazz chart and #43 on the Hot 100. The title track kicks things off in high style, a funky jam with great sax and guitar solos. Blues For Louis Jordan is one of three vocal tracks, and Handy is a good vocalist, and he also throws down a hot sax break. Young Enough To Dream is a delight that features sax, keyboard, guitar and percussion. 

The sunny So-Cal jazz of Love For Brother Jack opens side two, and features Handy's sax again. Didn't I Tell You is a funky blues/jazz featuring hot keys and sax, and another solid vocal performance. The fast, driving funk blues of Afro Wiggle features Mike Hoffman's guitar to fine effect. You Don't Know ends the set with another vocal and includes funky keys and guitar. 

Handy wrote all of the songs. The band is stellar with Hotep Cecil Barnard keyboards, Mike Hoffmann guitar, Chuck Rainey electric bass, James Gadson drums, Eddie "Bongo" Brown congas and percussion, Zakir Hussain tabla (on three tracks), and Handy's tenor and alto saxes and vocals. 

I hadn't listened to it in a very long time until recently, and I'm glad I got back to it. A super saxophonist plays funky jazz with a stellar band and solid tunes, and everyone contributes to make a great record. A great find in a used record store, and of course digital and streaming availability too.

Cyndi Lauper At Last 2003

Cyndi Lauper's solo career started with the one-two punch of She's So Unusual 1983 and True Colors 1986, both of which charted top ten, had multiple hit singles, and sold millions. Her third, A Night To Remember 1989 had her rocking harder and sold less well, even though it contained her last top ten single. Her next two recordings received critical praise but disappointing sales. So it was time for a covers record.

Ostensibly her jazz album, the record is a mix of jazz, standards, and pop and soul songs from the fifties and sixties. Lauper has the pipes to do anything, and her vocals are the star of the show. Some arrangements are straight covers, but most songs receive unique arrangements or significant tempo variations from their originals. Russ Titelman produced with Lauper, and the record has all the hallmarks of a highly professional production.

The title track kicks things off, and it is an instrumentally spare, relatively slow tempo version of the Etta James classic. Lauper sings the daylights out of it. That is followed by a slow, delicate Walk On By with small combo accompaniment, and again Lauper digs deep into the emotional core of the song. After two slow ones, Stay is presented in upbeat Latin mode, with Shiela E percussion and a horn section. It's hot, and fun. La Vie En Rose follows, and while it can't make you forget Edith Piaf, the slow, spare version here works fine. That is followed by another slow one, the beautiful Unchained Melody. There are a million versions of this song, and this is one of the good ones. If You Go Away is presented in a jazzy arrangement, and again Lauper invests herself in the lyric. 

About this time, the record could use some energy, and Stevie Wonder's (and Aretha Franklin's) Until You Come Back To Me has a backbeat and Stevie himself plays harmonica. The jazz standard My Baby Just Cares For Me swings nicely with electric keys from Steve Gaboury and a casual feel from Lauper. Next is a duet with Tony Bennett on Makin' Whoopie, and while it doesn't set a new standard, it's good. The slow returns with a smoldering version of Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, closer to Nina Simone's version than the Animals'. A super slow, super spare version of Smokey Robinson's You've Really Got A Hold On Me seems like an odd choice for the song, and could have added some pace to the record with a more upbeat version. Hymn To Love is an Edith Piaf song that continues the slow pace of the record, but it is a lovely song. On The Sunny Side Of The Street closes the show with a bang, a needed shot of adrenaline, and a good job on the old chestnut.

So the record could use a few less languid versions. With thirteen songs, only four get upbeat treatments. That is not to say that these slow versions don't work, most of them do. Cyndi Lauper sings everything from the heart, and really, it's a nice showcase for her impressive voice.

She wouldn't chart this high again until her next two covers records, Memphis Blues 2010 and Detour 2016 (country covers). In 2012 she wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, for which she won a Grammy in 2014 and a Tony in 2013. She stays in the public eye through tours, activism and guest spots, and she's opening for Rod Stewart on a nine date tour of Australia right now.

Frank Sinatra

 

As a teenager in the 1960s, I had little interest in Frank Sinatra. He was a singer from another time who was still around, doing the same thing he'd always done. He was a square from my father's generation. It didn't help much that his voice was beginning to change in a bad way, or that he tried in vain to seem hip by covering pop tunes of the day. I was listening to Beatles, Stones, and the whole raft of British Invasion groups, Motown and more gritty Southern soul, and plenty of American pop music from surf music to folk groups.

Later, as I got a bit older and began exploring jazz from the 1950s, I also began a reevaluation of some of the great singers of the 1950s, including Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Nat "King" Cole, and Frank Sinatra. And I began to realize that Sinatra was a singular vocal talent, a singer of enormous soul and depth, a man who could inhabit a lyric like no one else.

Of course the Sinatra catalog is a daunting thing of epic proportion, and he worked for several record labels that until more recently meant that a through overview was a challenge for the consumer. I'm not an expert on his work, and this is not the definitive buying guide, but I own a few CDs and a bunch of LPs that I mostly bought used, and some of them are really great. 

Sinatra first recorded for Columbia as the singer for the Harry James Orchestra in 1939-40, and for RCA with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra from 1940-42. He then began recording singles (78 rpm) under his own name from 1943-52 for Columbia. I have the 2 CD set Portrait Of Sinatra- Columbia Classics (1997) that covers this period, and it is some great stuff. His voice is strong and young, and he is already the nuanced singer that his work in the 50s and 60s reveals in detail. 

From 1953-1962 Sinatra recorded for Capitol Records, releasing a bevy of singles and a ton (23 actually) of LPs. This period, at least in my view, is the greatest era of Sinatra's career. His voice is still in great condition, albeit slightly lower in register than in the forties, and the material, arrangements, and recording technology are all excellent. And it is in this time that Sinatra records much of his most memorable material. One of the first "concept" albums, 1955's In The Wee Small Hours is well worth seeking out as either used LP or newly reissued LP or CD. It is themed around loneliness and heartache, and Sinatra's way with a ballad is as good as any singer, anytime. A single CD that might be almost all the Sinatra you need, Classic Sinatra His Greatest Performances 1953-1960 is worth having. It is the essence of Sinatra's greatness distilled down to twenty tracks, and every single one of them is superb.

 

 

 

 

Sinatra in the sixties is a mixed bag. Some of his most famous recordings happened in the sixties, and even if they weren't as great as his fifties work, there are still some fine performances to be had. When Sinatra went to Reprise, a label he owned, he produced some of his less well-reviewed records in the early sixties. But by 1965's September Of My Years, he was making a rebound. Strangers In The Night 1966 continued the hot streak. In the midst of all this came Moonlight Sinatra 1966. Released in March, by May, Sinatra's own Strangers In The Night made Moonlight Sinatra invisible. It may be the great overlooked Sinatra record. 

The late sixties and seventies were not kind to Frank Sinatra. His voice changed, and not really for the better. It's wrong to say he wasn't still a great singer, but his instrument was not what it had been. He was not to be the artist that ages gracefully in his voice, and he knew that mostly by the seventies, and his output waned significantly.

You might want to explore one of the single CD Reprise era collections, like Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years 1991 or Nothing But The Best 2014. But those fifties performances on Classic Sinatra will not be bettered, I assure you.

Cassandra Wilson Another Country 2012 and Coming Forth By Day 2015

I've been catching up on some more recent Cassandra Wilson releases. Another Country 2012 features Fabrizio Sotti, an Italian guitarist. He assists Cassandra with songwriting, producing, and of course he plays guitar. Beautiful, expressive, perfect guitar. It is no surprise to hear Wilson collaborate with a guitarist as she is one herself, and her bands both live and in studio have featured guitar and percussion over piano or horns for her preferred sound.

I hadn't heard it since it wasn't just a Cassandra Wilson record, and I wasn't sure about "featuring" another artist. Let's put that to rest. This is a wonderful Cassandra Wilson record made even better with the addition of Mr. Sotti. These two are great for each other. All the things about her great Blue Note releases is here in spades, perhaps just a little sparser than usual, with a small combo of guitar, percussion, bass, and accordion. The songs are all co-writes except the opening Red Guitar by Wilson and a version of O Sole Mio that Wilson and Sotti arranged. If you like Wilson's work for Blue Note (1993-2010), you'll want to hear this.

Coming Forth By Day 2015, a tribute to Billie Holiday, should be exciting news, but instead it is an unfortunately flawed record. Song selection is fine with songs both written by and/or associated with Billie Holiday. But the overly "atmospheric" sound is just too much for my tastes, and the record never seems to leave the ground. What could cause this? Well, for starters, the record was produced by Nick Launay, producer for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, as well as countless pop-rock and punk records. Launay may have a fine reputation for the work he has done, but none of that work has been jazz. Additionally, he uses the bass and drummer from the Bad Seeds, and while they may be fine musicians, they aren't jazz pros, and they don't help. Bassist Martin Casey sounds especially wrong for these tunes.

On a few songs, and when there is some semblance of energy, there is moderate success. But the overuse of echo, looped guitars, ethereal, atmospheric sounds and too slow pacing makes this a better nap soundtrack than an engaging record. I should point out that several songs are made better with Van Dyke Parks' string arrangements as well as the work of The Section Quartet and their leader/arranger Eric Gorfain. At least if you're going to go languid, add some nice strings.

Wilson's singing isn't the problem, nor does it overcome the problem. The problem is too much ambiance and not enough energy. A major disappointment from a usually fine artist that has given us so many great recordings.

Jazz from the 1950s and 1960s

I'm a melody kind of guy. Raised on pop and rock with some folk mixed in, music fits me better when I can hum or whistle along. So the jazz I most like is the cool jazz and West Coast jazz of the fifties and sixties that lived in the same moment as the bebop and hard bop that I find overly aggressive and challenging. I understand that those hard boppers are highly talented and wildly creative, but they are clearly not mellow, and I like my jazz mellow. So here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order (well, actually alphabetically).

Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue 1967 is classic blues/jazz at it's best. Burrell fronts a great band, including Stanley Turrentine, and everything comes out perfect.

Nat "King" Cole's After Midnight 1957. Before becoming a pop crooner singing with an orchestra, Cole was a pianist who led a jazz trio, and was widely considered one of the best. In 1957 Cole returned to his roots for the last time, and recorded this amazing session. If you never knew Cole as a jazz pianist, this is the place to start. The trio, supplemented by percussion, and horn (and violin) soloists, swings like crazy, and Cole's singing and piano are both stellar.

I can add nothing to the discussion of this great record. Sunday At The Village Vanguard 1961 is everything it is touted to be, and deserves the hype today as much as it did on it's release. Both Sunday At The Village Vanguard and Waltz For Debbie 1961, recorded at the same session, have been in print and available for purchase since their release. The pinnacle of the piano trio, with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, the three operated almost as one mind with six hands. You can just sit and enjoy it, or you can study it to death, either way, it holds up.

The Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette 1956 is a fascinating West Coast jazz ensemble. Drummer Hamilton is joined by sax/flute/clarinetist Collette plus bass, cello, and guitar. It is an unusual ensemble, and they are spectacular. 

At The Pershing: But Not For Me 1958 was one of the biggest hits of it's time, staying on the charts for 108 weeks. It includes Jamal's first version of Poinciana, and it is a delightful record. Swinging and easy to love. 

Sinatra'a In The Wee Small Hours 1955 might be the very first concept album, and Sinatra would return to themed records several more times in the 50s and 60s. Great songs, Nelson Riddle's arrangements, and Sinatra at the peak of his understated power, it is one of Sinatra's finest.

Peggy Lee Ultimate Peggy Lee 2020

How many of these apply to you?

1) I love the classic 50s-60s era of great jazz and popular song.

2) I love a great female voice/singer.

3) I love a well-crafted song, delivered in a fine arrangement.

4) Good sound enhances my enjoyment of music. 

5) I'm not sure I am familiar enough with Peggy Lee.

If you can answer yes to a few of those (I'm good for all five), you need to hear this record. Available on CD or a very nicely pressed 2 LP set, the mastering job is excellent and the sound is impressive. The song selection is also good, with a few that don't usually make it to most of her "best of" sets. Of course there are many compilations by Lee out there, and her Decca and Capitol work are usually mutually exclusive, so it is also nice that this one contains three essentials from her mid-fifties Decca stint along with her Capitol work.

And then there's Peggy Lee's voice and sensual delivery. She is unique in her delivery. Sexy, but never coquettish, Lee whispers in your ear like a woman that knows.

Great songs (five that she wrote), great singer, great sound.

Brian Auger and Julie Tippetts Encore 1978

Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll Tippetts made some great music together in the late sixties on two records by Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger and the Trinity, Open in 1967 and Streetnoise in 1969. Much of the best of those records (and a bunch of fine Auger singles from the sixties) can be had on Get Auger-Nized (The Mod Years) released in 2004 on vinyl. A two-CD set of Get-Auger-Nized The Mod Years/The Jazz Years includes The Mod Years on one CD and a second CD with Auger's Trinity and Oblivion Express bands featured. 

In 1978, they got back together for this delightful one-off. Some of the quirky-ness of their earlier work is smoothed out on this one, but they sound great together again. A fine reading of Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood showcases Tippett's stellar vocals, as do Jack Bruce's Rope Ladder To The Moon, Steve Winwood's No Time To Live, and two Al Jarreau penned tunes, Spirit and Lock All The Gates.Auger's own Git Up and Future Pilot are strong, and Julie gets soulful with the Staples' Freedom Highway.

No one sounds quite like Julie Driscoll Tippetts. I read a description of her as mid-way between Annie Lennox and Nina Simone, and that's probably as close as I could come. Her idiosyncratic styling reminds of Simone, and her clear, forceful voice rivals Lennox. But comparisons inevitably fail, because Julie is such a unique, soulful talent.

Brian Auger's Hammond B3 work is as hot as anyone's and his penchant for jazz-rock fusion makes him a singular force. I reviewed the Oblivion Express classic Closer To It! here.

Encore is one of those great finds in a used record bin.

Robin McKelle 2006-2019

Robin McKelle has an interesting story, and has recorded in a variety of styles that makes her difficult to pin down. She is a fine singer of jazz, soul, blues and pop. She writes some great songs, and has had some excellent writing partners. Although she hails from upstate New York, her first success came singing big band jazz in Europe. Her first release, Introducing 2006, is an excellent big band jazz record that swings. Confident, assured vocals, fine arrangements, and a stellar big band led by producer/trumpeter Willie Murillo featuring many great soloists. Highlights include Something's Gotta Give, For All We Know, Deep In A Dream, I've Got The World On A String, and a slow, sultry Come Rain Or Come Shine.

Next up, Modern Antique 2008, is another big band outing, and McKelle's vocals are just a bit more confident sounding, and a bit stronger. Willie Murillo produces again, this time with McKelle's assistance. Song selection is great, and includes Steve Miller's Abracadabra done big band style. Other highlights include Comes Love, Cheek To Cheek, Save Your Love For Me, Make Someone happy, and McKelle's first songwriting credit, the lovely closer Remember.

Mess Around 2010 finds McKelle fronting a smaller jazz combo of keyboards, bass and drums (and occasional guitar) augmented by three or four horns on all but two songs. McKelle produces herself, and wrote four of the songs. The rest are written by a wide array of songsmiths including Bee Gees, Leonard Cohen, Doc Pompus, Lennon/McCartney, and Willie Dixon. Her own Mess Around kicks things off in fine soul-jazz style. Several of the best songs are blues, including Never Make A Move Too Soon, Lonely Avenue, and I Just Want To Make Love To You. The record closes with another fine McKelle original, Since I Looked In Your Eyes.

So 2012 rolls around and Robin takes another musical turn, this time to soul music, with her Soul Flower release. There is a completely revamped band, The Flytones, featuring bassist/co-producer/songwriting partner Derek Nievergelt, Ben Stivers on keys, Adrian Harpham on drums, Al Street on guitar, and a three-man horn section. Robin writes or co-writes eight of the twelve songs. If you liked seventies soul music, it is hard to believe this came out in 2012. Highlights include her own Tell You One Thing, a sexy come-on, Fairytale Ending, a classic Philly/Memphis soul hybrid that has hit single written all over it, and the funky Don't Give Up. Two excellent duets, the Bee Gees' To Love Somebody with Lee Fields and Love's Work with Gregory Porter, and an unusually fast take on Bacharach's Walk On By are all great.

For 2014's Heart Of Memphis, McKelle stays with soul, this time emulating those fine Hi Records Memphis soul gems from the seventies. The Flytones return with a new two-man horn section, McKelle writes or co-writes 10 of the 12 songs, and everything works. The rocking soul of Good Time, the slow longing loss of Forgetting You, the walking blues of the title track. A very fine, quick-tempo Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood shines bright. Good & Plenty and Down With The Ship are great songs. Played to perfection by the Flytones, sung with panache by McKelle, it is a killer old soul outing. Produced in Memphis by Scott Bomar, the sound is excellent.

On The Looking Glass 2014, McKelle makes another musical style change, and creates a mature pop record not far removed from Adele, but with lingering soul overtones. McKelle wrote or cowrote all the songs. Steve Greenwell recorded and produced the record, and there is a new band in place on piano, bass, and drums, with Al Street back on guitar, and Greenwell adding keyboard touches throughout. It's her first record without any horns. The record kicks off with the funky modern soul of Gravity, the great hooks of Stand Up (a call to action), and the Adele-like slow build of I'm The One, with its killer chorus of Robins. Forgive Me's soul-pop harmonies follows, then Stay sounds like a good track from a Lauren Hill album, and the jazzy cautionary tale that is Brave Love keeps the quality high. The last three songs tread mid-tempo water, but it is overall a very strong outing.

After two soul albums and a pop one, Robin turns again and returns to jazz on Melodic Canvas 2018. A small combo with Shedrick Mitchell on piano and organ, Vincente Archer on bass, Daniel Sadownick on drums, and Al Street on guitar. McKelle produces, and makes another good one. Do You Believe has a gospel-like sound, Come To Me is sexy smooth jazz, You're No Good sounds like a jazz version of a Dusty Springfield song. Swing Low Sweet Chariot has a jazzy syncopated gospel feel, and Allen Toussaint's Yes We Can Can receives a slow build that takes the song to a new place, and a good place. There's a few moody jazz pieces that slow things down, but the singing is always fine. It might be less consistent than her best, but she's stretching out on this one, and you have to admire her moxie even if not everything works.

Which brings us to Alterations 2019. Shedrick Mitchell returns on keys and produced with McKelle. Richie Goods plays bass, Charles Haynes plays drums, and Nir Felder plays guitar. Guest horns appear on two tracks. This time (because she does like to change things up) it is a covers record with one McKelle original. The covers are all over the map, but feature mostly pop songs from Amy Winehouse, Joni Mitchell, Adele, Dolly Parton, Sade, Ella Fitzgerald, and Janis Joplin. The jazz version of Back In Black is super, and Adele's Rolling In The Deep is an interesting arrangement. Mercedes Benz is taken as a blues-rock, and Don't Explain gets a remarkable vocal from Robin. Her own Head High is another highlight, and features a smoking sax solo. Like most covers records, there are some questionable choices, including Sade's No Ordinary Love (it's ordinary), Joni Mitchell's River (not an easy song to interpret), and Parton's Jolene (hard to turn into jazz). Similarly to The Looking Glass, the first half is the strong half. But the good stuff is good enough you don't want to miss it.

The real heartbreak is that she has gone mostly unnoticed in her homeland. She is a much better known artist in France and Germany than here in the U.S., and that's just a shame. If you like big band vocals, get Modern Antique. For small combo jazz, I still like Mess Around, which is a great set of songs, and features three blues that Robin sings beautifully, but the newer ones are solid too. Both of her soul records are great, and I can't really choose between Heart Of Memphis and Soul Flower. The pop-soul of The Looking Glass is better than most new music. You may have never heard of her, but that has nothing to do with her prodigious talent.

Norah Jones Pick Me Up Off The Floor 2020

Norah Jones is a beguiling artist at her best. A lovely singer, a talented piano and guitar player, and a skilled songwriter, she has crafted some of the best jazz, jazz-pop and pop of the last twenty years. But not everything is equal to her best work, and her records have vacillated from greatness to downright disappointing. Her best records, like the debut Come Away With Me, have been followed by lesser product. Both Feels Like Home and Not Too Late, while certainly not bad records, couldn't touch the debut. Then The Fall was a revelation, with her moving to guitar on some songs and with a production that took some of the sleepy out of her songs. That was followed by the mismatch with Danger Mouse on Little Broken Hearts, which showed that there was a way to make a less than great Norah Jones record without making it boring. Then 2016's "return" to jazz, Day Breaks, was a monumental work, proving she had the goods still, and that maybe the pool of her talents was deeper than we knew. Last year's Begin Again was a collection of writing collaborations that sounded less cohesive than her better efforts. Which brings us to Pick Me Up Off The Floor.

Jones has always specialized in soft, gentle compositions. Some of her work is a bit too sleepy sometimes, but there are generally a few songs that pick things up a bit. Not so much this time around. This one starts off slow, never speeds up, and then peters out all together. Not that tempos ruin the record, but don't come looking for much in the energy category.

How I Weep, softly, minimally played on piano and strings, sets the tone. Flame Twin has a nice organ part and interesting lyric. Background singers and Pete Remm's Hammond B3 keep Hurts To Be Alone interesting. Heartbroken, Day After is a slow sad breakup song. It is a good one, but four songs in and barely a rhythm in sight. Say No More has a nice rhythm and some melody, and you might think it's the beginning of getting this work moving. But not so much really. The chorus of Norah's vocals shines on This Life, with its appropriate lyric for the pandemic we are living through.

Side Two has to pick things up, right? To Live is a beautiful song, urging the singer to live in the now, again with lovely harmonies she sings herself. A collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, I'm Alive, is next, and it is good. The lyrics seem to focus on pandemic-me too-politics, and the tempo is at least moving forward. Tweedy's guitars are a nice change of pace. Then it's over. Were You Watching? (a too long, too sad dirge), Stumble On My Way (just slow), and Heaven Above (beautiful, and oh yeah, slow) try to out-slow each other, and they all win.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Jones' work has never been exactly upbeat, but this is just too far down the lack of tempo road. It is a beautiful record, full of sad, melancholy songs perhaps best described as art songs. It is well-written and performed. The musicians (usually just piano, bass and drums with one or two helpers along for the ride) do a fine job. As theme music for our current state of pandemic depression, it might be perfect. 

Maybe I'm being too critical. Several of these songs are strikingly beautiful. Jones' voice is lovely. Lyrics are mostly strong. There isn't a note out of place. Shouldn't that be enough?

Ahmad Jamal Ballades 2019

Ahmad Jamal will turn 90 this year, and his late career work has been consistently strong. 2007's It's Magic, 2011's Blue Moon, 2013's Saturday Morning, and 2016's Marseille are all fine outings. Playing in a quartet of piano, bass, drums and percussion, the extra percussionist seems to play perfectly with Jamal's innate sense of rhythm.

This time it is different. This time it is solo piano (with bass on three tracks). And from what I know and can research of Jamal's discography, this is a first. These ballades (a term used by Chopin to describe his short single movement piano pieces) are beautiful, and recorded beautifully. Pressed on heavy vinyl at 45 rpm, the sound is stunning.

The tracks were recorded in 2016 while Jamal was in France recording Marseille. There is actually a fourth version of the song Marseille on this set (there were three versions- two with vocals- on the Marseille release). There's a new solo version of the Jamal favorite Poinciana. There are only three Jamal originals in the ten song set (one is the composed-while-recorded Because I Love You), and lots of classics from Rogers and Hart, Cahn, and Mandel. All done in these pristine solo piano versions by the master of rhythm, subtlety, nuance and expression.

Jamal takes a melody apart like no one else. Sometimes he stretches things far from the root, while other times he plays so very close to the lyric. In fact, lyrical might be an excellent description of his playing. This is a really beautiful record, both a new expression and one consistent with Jamal's lovely body of work. Ahmad Jamal has been known to call jazz "American classical music". I don't know if it is classical, but it is classic all the way.

Norah Jones Day Breaks 2016

So here we get Norah Jones going back for a little jazz credibility. The sly mix of pop, jazz, and a dash of country that made her debut the biggest thing since sliced bread, and her lovely vocal delivery and impressively nuanced piano playing all have left us with high expectations.

She followed the debut (Come Away With Me 2002) with two more lovely outings (Feels Like Home 2004, Not Too Late 2007) that felt alternatively like growth some times and treading water other times. The Fall 2009 came next, and it really showed a different side of Jones that I thought was invigorating. More guitar, more pop, more ever so slightly faster tempos, and some of her best writing. I wasn't so thrilled with Little Broken Hearts 2012, and while it was generally well-received, I never thought Danger Mouse was the right partner.

This new one is being touted as a return to the form of her debut. There's still some pop songs, and a bit of country, but she's mostly playing jazz on this one, and it works to her advantage.

Burn opens the record with a slinky tune enhanced by Wayne Shorter on sax and Peter Rehm's Hammond organ. Tragedy features a fine Jones piano figure and a nice lyric. Flipside brings out a rocking Wulitzer piano applied to a perfect pop song. Like a great lost Melody Gardot song, It's A Wonderful Time For Love shows off Jones in trio mode. The piano trio plus string quartet arrangement of And Then There Was You is just plain pretty. Side one closes with Neil Young's Don't Be Denied, and while it's not Young's greatest song, at least we don't have to hear him do it.

Side two is rock solid, with opener Day Break featuring the string quartet and Wayne Shorter again in big dramatic beauty. Horace Silver's Peace gets the trio treatment plus Shorter again, and he smokes it. Brain Blade on drums and John Pettucci on bass are great here and on several other tracks. On Once I Had A Laugh, she turns a seemingly lightweight composition into big fun with a brassy horn section. Sleeping Wild is nice, and is saved by the string quartet coda. Carry On is an upbeat tune with a familiar Jones melody, and it holds up. She closes with Ellington's Fleurette Africaine, again with just a piano trio plus Shorter's sax, and as she hums and moans, the band spreads out for some real deal jazz.

Bringing in Wayne Shorter on four tracks helps to make it sound like the jazz-intentioned outing it is. But the song writing is some of Jones best ever, and she uses two new writing partners in Sarah Oda and Peter Rehm who must take some of the credit for the quality on display here. A few well-chosen covers, and heck, what else do you possibly want from the girl?

Norah Jones never went away, and now she's back.

Allen Toussaint American Tunes 2016

Allen Toussaint passed away in November 2015, and left behind this gem of a record. There may be questions about whether this would have been the record we would have received had Toussaint lived, but they are mostly academic, and hardly worth the time. What we have here is a worthy successor to The Bright Mississippi, Toussaint's recent career high-water mark from 2009.

There are several solo piano recordings that Toussaint made in 2013, and a four-day session with a stellar cast of modern day jazz greats in October 2015. Produced by Joe Henry, who also did The Bright Mississippi, the record has a different feel and intention from its predecessor.

Delores' Boyfriend starts the set, and it is a solo piano Toussaint composition that owes much to the sound of the great Professor Longhair. Delightful in its New Orleans perfection, it is the first of many magical moments from Toussaint at the keys. Fats Waller's Viper's Drag follows, and we get another fun tune with great piano and sympathetic band support. Confessin' (That I Love You) finds the band swinging, and then Longhair's Mardi Gras In New Orleans gets a surprise quiet, laid back arrangement that Toussaint delivers on solo piano, transforming the usually raucous tune. Side one ends with Billy Strayhorn's Lotus Blossom, which includes sweet guitar/piano interplay and a lovely Charles Lloyd sax break.

Toussaint reimagines another classic, this time taking on Bill Evan's Waltz For Debby, with an almost Latin-style, non-waltz time, perky approach that takes the song in a new and interestingly unique direction that works in spades. Another novel interpretation follows, as Toussaint's solo piano reading of the New Orleans classic Big Chief alternates tempo changes, and jazzed-out searching before finally returning to the classic chorus. Ellington's Rocks In My Head follows, with a big brassy vocal by Rhiannon Giddens supported by a swaggering band and hot piano and guitar solos. Dual pianos by Toussaint and Van Dyke Parks, and a sweet, understated orchestral arrangement by Parks turns the sweet dance of Louis Gottschalk's Danza Op. 33 into pure bliss. Solo piano returns again for Longhair's Hey Little Girl, and it's another winner.

Earl "Fatha" Hines' Rosetta gets a piano trio workout, with more fine Toussaint piano and a tasty bass solo by David Piltch. Then Ellington's Come Sunday gets the vocal treatment from Giddens again, and this time her pained Gospel vocal, while emulating Mahalia Jackson's original, is just a little too brash for me. Another fine Charles Lloyd solo almost saves it. Van Dyke Parks returns for another piano duet on Toussaint's biggest hit Southern Nights, and the two of them present a beautifully jazzy take on the classic. Finally, Toussaint sings a sweet, heartfelt version of Paul Simon's American Tune with guitar by Adam Levy, and a delicate band arrangement that seeps into the song as it progresses. Toussaint sings the song with reverence, and it is lovely.

If you buy the CD, that's it. But side four of the LP includes two more Professor Longhair songs on solo piano (Her Mind Is Gone and Bald Head both receive slow, finely articulated readings) and Mancini's Moon River, which is a tasty guitar/piano duet featuring Bill Frissell's understated perfection.

The cast is impeccable, with Bill Frissell and Greg Leisz on guitars, Jay Bellerose on drums, David Piltch's bass, and Charles Lloyd on saxophone. Guest Van Dyke Parks makes a significant impression on the three on which he contributes. But it is mostly about Allen Toussaint's pure New Orleans genius on piano, and his incomparable arranging skill. Clearly the focus is on tributes to Longhair, Ellington, and a few other masters of American song. The cohesiveness of the sound on The Bright Mississippi is missing somewhat, and this one feels, not really scattershot, but less focused. But other than the over-the-top vocal on Come Sunday (and your impression may not match mine), every moment is treasure.

A master of the American form has left behind another beautiful way for us to remember him.

Eva Cassidy Nightbird 2015

Nightbird is the long overdue release of the entire night recorded at Blues Alley on January 3, 1996 that, edited, became the 1996 classic Live At Blues Alley, reviewed here.

Live At Blues Alley is indispensable for anyone interested in the jazz-pop light genre, and Cassidy's voice was a thing of nearly unparalleled beauty. Pitch-perfect, and with an astounding range and power, we can only speculate on her potential. But given the success of Diana Krall and Norah Jones, it is hard to believe that Eva Cassidy wouldn't have found fame in her time.

Her choice of material was all-encompassing, with songs from the great American jazz songbook, sixties soul, folk, pop, rock and gospel. She could sing it all with her lovely phrasing and immaculate voice. And she was emotionally invested in every song.

But the question now is whether you need to own this new, two-CD, 33-track expanded version of the performance that gave us Live At Blues Alley. Most of the 33 songs here have been released previously. There are only eight that have never been heard, although some of the others were released in re-recorded form over Eva's original vocal tracks. Quite a few of the songs have been released on one of the many posthumous releases since Cassidy's tragic death at age 33. Of the ones that have never seen the light of day, a few are a bit rough, and Cassidy drops a lyric on a couple of them. But overall, the quality is very fine. There could have been a Live At Blues Alley Part Two that would have been every bit the original's equal. And that is pretty much your answer.

I suppose if you own all of her posthumous recordings, you've already purchased this one. If not, you'll have to buy it to get at those eight unreleased tracks. Maybe you love Blues Alley, and got tired of buying the mixed quality of the posthumous releases- they definitely progressed to weaker and weaker material and production with each "new" release. For you, I can also recommend this CD without reservation. It's not perfect, but the quality of the original release is certainly not tainted in any way by getting to hear the whole performance. Having all the songs in one place is nice, and most of the deserved accolades that the original received can be applied here with only rare exceptions.

It really is a shame that she died so young and full of potential. That we cannot ever hear what she might have produced is sad indeed. This should be the last of her offerings, and it should have been done sooner, but all that aside, it is one fine record for anyone that loved the original.