The Great Divas Of Jazz – Various Artists CDSGP4047
£8.50
The Great Divas Of Jazz
Various Artists
5032427404708
1 | What is That Thing Called Love | Ella Fitzgerald |
2 | Cry Me A River | Julie London |
3 | It Might As Well Be Spring | Blossom Dearie |
4 | Georgia On My Mind | Billie Holiday |
5 | At Last | Etta James |
6 | Ma, He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me | Pearl Bailey |
7 | I’m Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself A Letter) | Sarah Vaughan |
8 | I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine | Georgia Gibbs |
9 | I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me warm | Kay Starr |
10 | Darn That Dream | Lena Horne |
11 | I Can’t Get Started | Maxine Sullivan |
12 | Misty | Carol Sloane |
13 | My Baby Just Cares For Me | Nina Simone |
14 | The Nearness of You | June Christy |
15 | Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered | Anita O’Day |
16 | I Wanna Be Loved | Dinah Washington |
17 | The Girl From Ipanema | Astrud Gilberto |
18 | Mood Indigo | Dinah Shore |
19 | Fever | Peggy Lee |
20 | Heat Wave | Ernestine Anderson |
21 | Let There Be Love | Pearl Bailey |
22 | Good Morning, Heartache | Carmen McRae |
23 | Things We Did Last Summer | Eydie Gormé |
24 | All Night Long | Nancy Wilson with The George Shearing Quintet |
25 | But Not For Me | Helen Forest & Harry James |
1 | Satin Doll | Ella Fitzgerald |
2 | I Must Have That Man | Maxine Sullivan |
3 | Lullaby In Rhythm | June Christy |
4 | The Very Thought Of You | Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra |
5 | Lady Sings The Blues | Cleo Laine |
6 | I Only Have Eyes For You | Carol Sloane |
7 | Lover Man | Sarah Vaughan |
8 | Stormy Weather | Etta James |
9 | These Foolish Things | Helen Ward |
10 | That Old Feeling | Lena Horne |
11 | For Sentimental Reasons | Dorothy Squires |
12 | You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me | Anita O’Day |
13 | I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good) | Nina Simone |
14 | Ain’t She Sweet | Pearl Bailey |
15 | Stormy Weather | Lee Wiley |
16 | I’ve Got You Under My Skin | Dinah Washington |
17 | Don’t Meddle In My Mood | Kay Starr |
18 | That Old Feeling | Ernestine Anderson |
19 | On a Slow Boat to China | Peggy Lee and Bing Crosby |
20 | ’round Midnight | Julie London |
21 | Black magic | Astrud Gilberto |
22 | Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea | Carmen McRae |
23 | Smoke Gets In Your Eyes | Dinah Shore |
24 | Almost Like Being In Love | Nancy Wilson (with The Billy May Orchestra) |
25 | I Had The Craziest Dream | Helen Forrest |
1 | Puttin’ On The Ritz | Ella Fitzgerald |
2 | Autumn in New York | Ernestine Anderson |
3 | Old Devil Moon | Anita O’Day |
4 | Summertime | Billie Holiday |
5 | How Long Has This Been Going On | Eydie Gormé |
6 | Cocktails For Two | Betty Carter & Ray Charles |
7 | What A Difference A Day Makes | Sarah Vaughan |
8 | And That Reminds Me | Della Reese |
9 | You Do Something To Me | Lee Wiley |
10 | Push De Button | Lena Horne |
11 | Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea | Blossom Dearie |
12 | Black Coffee | Julie London |
13 | Trouble In Mind | Nina Simone |
14 | My One And Only Love | Cleo Laine |
15 | Love for sale | Astrud Gilberto |
16 | I’m A Fool To Want You | Dinah Washington |
17 | It Had To Be You | Helen Forrest |
18 | Only You | Nellie Lutcher |
19 | He’s A Tramp | Peggy Lee |
20 | As Time Goes By | Carol Sloane |
21 | Somebody Loves Me | Georgia Gibbs |
22 | My Funny Valentine | Carmen McRae |
23 | Night And Day | Maxine Sullivan |
24 | All Of You | Nancy Wilson (with The Billy May Orchestra) |
25 | I’ll Buy That Dream | Helen Forrest |
1 | Moonlight In Vermont | Ella Fitzgerald |
2 | These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You) | Etta James |
3 | It’s Only A Paper Moon | Lee Wiley |
4 | Love Me Or Leave Me | Billie Holiday |
5 | Day By day | Eydie Gorme |
6 | Every Time We Say Goodbye | Maxine Sullivan |
7 | Ain’t Misbehavin’ | Sarah Vaughan |
8 | You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To | Julie London |
9 | Stardust | Dinah Shore |
10 | Someone to Watch over Me | Lena Horne |
11 | Far Away | Astrud Gilberto |
12 | Runnin’ Wild | Ernestine Anderson |
13 | I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl | Nina Simone |
14 | Willow Weep For Me | June Christy |
15 | My Old Flame | Georgia Gibbs |
16 | Mad About The Boy | Dinah Washington |
17 | That’s A Plenty | Nellie Lutcher |
18 | Taking A Chance On Love | Anita O’Day |
19 | Basin Street Blues | Peggy Lee with The Quincy Jones Orchestra |
20 | Baby It’s Cold Outside | Betty Carter & Ray Charles |
21 | Come On A My House | Rosemary Clooney |
22 | We’ll Be Together Again | Carmen McRae |
23 | Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own | Kay Starr |
24 | On The Street Where You Live | Nancy Wilson (with The Billy May Orchestra) |
25 | Long Ago And Far Away | Helen Forrest |
-Th[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]One of the numbers Lena Horne sang in her triumphant 1981 one-woman show “Lena Horne – The Lady And Her Music” was an obscure Rodgers and Hart song, the wittily risqué “A Lady Must Live”. As a dedicated fan of all things Rodgers & Hart, I wondered at first, how in heaven’s name did Lena Horne find this rare gem.
I should have known better. There may well be a charming bit of business behind her discovery of the song; the means of her introduction to it, however, are far less important than the realisation that Lena Horne knows a good song when she hears one. Whether a song is brought to her attention for her consideration or encountered by her by chance, it is inescapable that she will recognise a song of merit, and if her vocal personality is up to it, she will have a new song to add to her already rich repertoire. And of course the chief beneficiaries are those who are unfamiliar with a forgotten or neglected gem.
So it’s little wonder that, in this album, Lena Horne has chosen her songs with care and in the process has uncovered rarely heard treasures from the pop song masters of the past.
Two of them have music by Harold Arlen, who wrote the melodies – with lyrics by E Y Harburg – Lena sang in “Jamaica”, her Broadway musical first presented in 1957. One is “The Eagle & Me” also with the lyrics by Harburg from the 1944 Broadway hit, “Bloomer Girl”. The song, reflecting a social consciousness of Arlen & Harburg is a joyous paean to freedom. “Sing From My Heart”, with a lyric by Ted Koehler is a swinging come-what-may ballad first sung by Irene Dunne in a 1939 RKO film, “Love Affair”.
Cole Porter, represented on the album by two songs could be the source of many Lena Horne numbers that she could delight her fans with, but for this album she offers his rarely performed “Ours”, in which exotic locales are viewed as retreat for lovers. It’s from the 1936 musical “Red Hot & Blue” the other Porter song is his wonderfully ardent standby “Every Time We Say Goodbye”.
Vernon Duke and Ogden Nash were infrequently paired as songwriters, but when they were, the songwriting craft was in captivating hands. Such is the case for “Roundabout”, lifted from 1946’s short lived “Sweet Bye And Bye”, and inserted into the 1952 Bette Davis musical, “Two’s Company”.
Lena Horne, to be sure, does not disappoint those who welcome choice renditions of songs from the standard repertoire. The likes of the aforementioned “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, “A Fine Romance”,“Look To The Rainbow” and “When I Fall In Love”, fill the bill with unquestioned brilliance
This album also reflects Lena Horne’s willingness to find worthy newcomers, two of which – the lovely ballads “I Wish I’d Met You” and “I Won’t Leave You” featured in her warm duets with Sally Davis and Joe Williams respectively. A third is “Joy”, a bluesy, yet optimistic song featuring a bit of cheerful byplay between Nina and her musicians.
If there is an underlying romantic philosophy in Lena Horne’s program it is one noted by Ettore Stratta, the album’s producer, “Lena”, he explains “wasn’t interested in songs of unrequited love, they reflect the sunnier view of life”.
Indeed, for the listener this album also mirrors Lena Horne’s basic philosophy of performance: the best songs of the past and present, in renditions that make them her own.
More recently, Lena’s “A Fine Romance” was featured in the Australian international smach hit film “Priscilla Queen Of The Desert”.
Unfortunately, Lena Horne passed away on the 9th of May 2010, but her music will stay with us forever.
IRV LICHTMAN, DEPUTY EDITOR, BILLBOARD MAGAZINE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Track Listing[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2”][vc_column_text]
- I Wish I’d Met You
- Ours
- Every Time We Say Goodbye
- A Fine Romance
- Roundabout
- September Song
- Joy
- Close Enough For Love
- I Won’t Leave You Again
- The Eagle And Me
- When I Fall In Love
- Look To The Rainbow
- It Could Happen To You
- Sing My Heart
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