Dinah Washington ( vocal )
with collective personnel :
Clark Terry ( trumpet ); Gus Chappell ( trombone
); Rick Henderson ( alto saxophone ); Eddie
Chamblee, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis,
Paul Quinichette ( tenor saxophone ); Clarence
"Sleepy" Anderson, Junior Mance
( piano); Jackie Davis ( organ ); Keter Betts
( bass ); Candido Camero ( conga ); Ed Thigpen
( drums ).
Recorded June 1953 in Chicago and February
and June 1954 in New York.
1. Blue Skies
2. Bye Bye Blues
3. Am I Blue?
4. Our Love Is Here To Stay
5. A Foggy Day
6. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
7. Pennies From Heaven
8. Love For Sale
9. Blue Skies - unedited version
Dinah Washington was one of those rare singers
who's popularity crossed many different categories.
Essentially a jazz singer with strong blues
and gospel roots, she nevertheless managed
to have several hits in the popular field
with recordings such as "September In
The Rain". This disc is a fine example
of her jazz credibility.
The personnel is as good as
one could find for a mainstream session at
this point in time. The soloists are superb
with Clark Terry and Eddie "Lockjaw"
Davis being outstanding. If anyone needs convincing
of this then I would recommend they listen
to "Bye Bye Blues" which is taken
at one of those seemingly impossibly ambitious
tempos which singers sometimes attempt and
yet is completely successful and even manages
to sound under control for the majority of
the track ! Of particular interest on this
track is the drumming of Ed Thigpen - he manages
to hold the tempo just by ticking on the bell
of his hi-hat - it is no wonder that he was
the chosen kit player of the great Oscar Peterson
for so many years.
With the vast quantity of reissues
by the classic vocalists it is sometimes difficult
to say that one is an essential, however,
I would wholeheartedly urge anyone to give
this disc a try. The featured artist is on
her best form and much of the accompaniment
can only be classed as inspired, bringing
a feeling of joy to many of the selections.
Dick Stafford
CD Reviews
VERVE 07605622 
