Artist: Anita O'Day
Title Of Album: The Complete Verve/Clef Sessions
Year Of Release: 1999
Label: Mosaic Records
Genre: Vocal Jazz
Quality: FLAC (*tracks + .cue,log,scans)
Time: 09:57:35 min
Full Size: 3,26 (+1%rec)
In the world of song, there are clearly stylists and then there are true jazz vocalists. To the latter category, Anita O'Day has to be counted as one of the few who have built a recorded legacy as important as that of any jazz instrumentalist. A discriminating artist with a solid musical background, word has it that there's no easier way to put off O'Day than to hand her a lead sheet with just the printed lyrics, as she wants to see the entire score in relation to how her part fits within the arrangement. This attention to detail pervades every note put on tape over the course of the 198 performances (spanning the years 1952 to1962) preserved on this 9-CD boxed set.
A delectable embarrassment of riches, the majority of the performances collected here have been in and out of print over the last decade, yet this is the first time that all of them have been assembled in roughly chronological order and with the best possible sound. This point becomes even more consequential when one considers that O'Day's Clef/Verve material really forms the cornerstone of her recorded legacy, equivalent, if you will, to Armstrong's Hot Five's and Seven's or John Coltrane's Impulse albums.
The first disc and a quarter documents O'Day with small groups on sessions cut out on the West coast. Unpretentious affairs, with such names as Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow, and Jimmy Rowles on hand, these dates focus on popular standards and O'Day's modest surroundings give one a fetching chance to take note of the many particular qualities of her singular style. She has a way of playing with syllables in a word that shifts the emphasis away from the usually- stressed beats, giving the listener the impression that her range is wider than it actually is.
Over the course of the next disc or so, the first of the big band recordings make an appearance with Buddy Bregman leading the charge. His band charts are nothing out of the ordinary, yet his writing for strings is particularly striking in its avoidance of all the usual clichés that make jazz and strings a deadly combination. In between these dates, you'll find the six cuts from Gene Krupa's Drummer Man that feature O'Day. Then, things take a bold turn for the first of what would be many quintessential small group albums to come. 1957's Anita Sings the Most lets O'Day loose with the Oscar Peterson quartet on a dozen standards that get turned inside out, the two partners clearly inspired by each other and taking chances that pay off big time. In the same league, Anita O'Day at Mister Kelly's boasts a less-notable rhythm section, but the results are no less satisfying as heard on a live recording from the spring of 1958.
Fast forward one year, to April of 1959, and we get the unusual match-up of O'Day and Jimmy Giuffre. A more contrasting combination it would hard to contemplate, Anita being as extroverted and rambunctious as Giuffre is collected and sober, O'Day sings a characteristic set of standards with Giuffre alternating groupings of reeds and brass with an economical amount of harmonic accompaniment being provided in a few spots by guitarist Jim Hall. Keeping in mind how much of a challenge this can be for a lesser talent, it's to her credit that O'Day pulls it all off with aplomb and creates an album that is as unique to her catalog as it is to Giuffre's schizophrenic oeuvre.
As if to balance the more esoteric qualities of her previous date with Giuffre, O'Day hits the Great American Songbook for the 1959 and 1960 sessions with the Billy May Orchestra released as Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May and Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart. These too are superior classics that rank head and shoulders above the scores of other like-minded records that were the norm at the time. The same can be said for Waiter, Make Mine Blues, a bit more diverse program with Russ Garcia's charts and two basic ensembles, one consisting of woodwinds and strings and the other a small rhythm section with a five-trombone front line.
The final three big band recordings are arguably the finest of O'Day's later period work. For Incomparable it's a taste of Bill Holman's writing at a time when he was in his ascendancy. Taken in tandem with his Great Big Band album from the same period (see Mosaic's Kenton Presents Bob Cooper, Bill Holman, and Frank Rosolino set for a listen), this stuff forms the foundation of his quintessential early work. Johnny Mandel's charts for Trav'lin' Light, a selection of songs associated with and presented as a tribute to Billie Holiday, are also radical and prevent O'Day from pandering to any possible attempt to merely copy Holliday's style verbatim. Not that she really would have considered that an option, as distinct as her style was by comparison.
Tracklist
CD1 {01:14:22}
01. Lover Come Back to Me (2:27)
02. Lullaby of the Leaves (3:10)
03. Rock and Roll Blues (3:18)
04. Love for Sale (3:37)
05. No Soap, No Hope Blues (2:34)
06. Speak Low (2:36)
07. The Lady Is a Tramp (2:41)
08. Strawberry Moon (3:08)
09. Pagan Love Song (2:40)
10. Ain't This a Wonderful Day (2:42)
11. Somebody's Cryin' (3:02)
12. Vaya con Dios (3:40)
13. The Gypsy in My Soul (2:34)
14. Just One of Those Things (2:42)
15. The Man I Love (4:15)
16. Frankie and Johnny (3:38)
17. Anita's Blues (3:27)
18. I Cover the Waterfront (3:47)
19. I Didn't Know What Time It Was (3:44)
20. Let's Fall in Love (2:27)
21. You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me (2:46)
22. From This Moment On (3:14)
23. You Don't Know What Love Is (2:58)
24. Medley: There Will Never Be Another You/Just Friends (3:15)
CD2 {01:02:37}
01. Beautiful Love (2:39)
02. As Long as I Live (3:40)
03. Who Cares? (3:16)
04. Fine and Dandy (2:28)
05. I Fall in Love Too Easily (2:55)
06. I Can't Get Started (3:55)
07. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (4:02)
08. Time After Time (4:08)
09. You're the Top (2:26)
10. No Moon at All (2:29)
11. Honeysuckle Rose (3:15)
12. I'll See You in My Dreams (2:51)
13. Boogie Blues (3:53)
14. Opus 1 (3:34)
15. That's What You Think (4:00)
16. Let Me Off Uptown (3:23)
17. Drummin' Man (3:15)
18. Slow Down (3:35)
19. Memories of You (2:53)
CD3 {01:05:05}
01. I'm with You (2:07)
02. The Rock and Roll Waltz (2:47)
03. The Getaway and the Chase (2:28)
04. Your Picture's Hanging Crooked on the Wall (2:31)
05. We Laughed at Love (3:12)
06. I'm Not Lonely (3:06)
07. Don't Be That Way (2:34)
08. Let's Face the Music and Dance (alternate take) (3:18)
09. Let's Face the Music and Dance (3:18)
10. I Used to Be Color Blind (3:10)
11. Pick Yourself Up (3:06)
12. There's a Lull in My Life (3:18)
13. Man with a Horn (3:56)
14. Ivy (2:48)
15. Stars Fell on Alabama (2:52)
16. Stars Fell on Alabama (alternate take) (2:51)
17. Let's Begin (2:21)
18. Sweet Georgia Brown (4:14)
19. I Never Had a Chance (4:24)
20. Stompin' at the Savoy (3:20)
21. I Won't Dance (3:24)
CD4 {01:07:39}
01. Medley: 'S Wonderful/They Can't Take That Away from Me (2:58)
02. Love Me or Leave Me (2:34)
03. Old Devil Moon (2:54)
04. Tenderly (3:22)
05. We'll Be Together Again (3:38)
06. Stella by Starlight (2:06)
07. Them There Eyes (2:39)
08. Takin' a Chance on Love (2:24)
09. I've Got the World on a String (4:01)
10. You Turned the Tables on Me (3:43)
11. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (3:57)
12. But Not for Me (3:10)
13. Medley: I Have a Reason for Living/My Love for You (4:55)
14. The Varsity Drag (1:48)
15. It Never Entered My Mind (3:08)
16. Tea for Two (3:49)
17. Everytime I'm with You (2:10)
18. Have You Met Miss Jones? (2:09)
19. The Wildest Gal in Town (2:40)
20. Star Eyes (3:03)
21. Loneliness Is a Well (3:10)
22. The Song Is You (3:21)
CD5 {01:08:25}
01. What's Your Story Morning Glory? (3:51)
02. My Funny Valentine (3:37)
03. Sing Sing Sing (3:33)
04. Body and Soul (3:24)
05. The Peanut Vendor (2:42)
06. Frenesi (3:05)
07. Take the "A" Train (2:53)
08. Tenderly (2:41)
09. Four Brothers (2:26)
10. Early Autimn (3:12)
11. Interlude (A Night in Tunisia) (2:38)
12. Four (2:51)
13. Come Rain or Come Shine (2:16)
14. You're a Clown (2:33)
15. Easy Come, Easy Go (3:13)
16. A Lover Is Blue (3:02)
17. Mack the Knife (3:09)
18. Gone with the Wind (2:27)
19. Hershey Bar (2:07)
20. My Heart Belongs to Daddy (2:54)
21. Orphan Annie (2:03)
22. The Way You Look Tonight (2:12)
23. It Had to Be You (3:14)
24. Hooray for Hollywood (2:22)
CD6 {00:55:09}
01. Just One of Those Things (2:10)
02. Love for Sale (2:44)
03. All of You (1:44)
04. Easy to Love (2:04)
05. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (1:51)
06. I Get a Kick Out of You (2:24)
07. I Love You (1:59)
08. I've Got You Under My Skin (1:49)
09. Get Out of Town (2:32)
10. What Is This Thing Called Love? (2:33)
11. Night and Day (2:03)
12. It's De-Lovely (2:06)
13. Falling in Love with Love (1:28)
14. Johnny One Note (1:53)
15. Lover (2:02)
16. Have You Met Miss Jones? (1:53)
17. Little Girl Blue (3:01)
18. Spring Is Here (2:45)
19. It Never Entered My Mind (2:24)
20. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (4:20)
21. I've Got Five Dollars (1:47)
22. To Keep My Love Alive (3:13)
23. Ten Cents a Dance (2:17)
24. I Could Write a Book (2:07)
CD7 {01:15:29}
01. It Could Happen to You (2:40)
02. Blue Champagne (2:37)
03. Avalon (2:14)
04. Old Devil Moon (3:05)
05. The Party's Over (3:13)
06. Why Shouldn't I? (3:09)
07. Easy Living (3:20)
08. Can't We Be Friends (2:17)
09. Slaughter on 10th Ave. (5:51)
10. If I Love Again (2:50)
11. Speak Low (3:05)
12. Indian Summer (3:16)
13. Yesterdays (5:14)
14. Mad About the Boy (3:29)
15. That Old Feeling (2:30)
16. Waiter, Make Mine Blues (3:23)
17. When Sunny Gets Blue (3:04)
18. Angel Eyes (3:41)
19. Whatever Happened to You? (4:42)
20. A Blues Serenade (3:02)
21. The Thrill Is Gone (2:15)
22. Goodbye (3:41)
23. Stella by Starlight (2:51)
CD8 {01:15:11}
01. Detour Ahead (4:25)
02. Trav'lin' Light (3:35)
03. Don't Explain (3:12)
04. I Hear Music (2:16)
05. Crazy He Calls Me (3:26)
06. Lover Come Back to Me (2:51)
07. If the Moon Turns Green (2:56)
08. Remember (2:39)
09. What a Little Moonlight Can Do (2:29)
10. The Moon Looks Down and Laughs (3:58)
11. Some Other Spring (2:27)
12. Miss Brown to You (4:03)
13. God Bless the Child (2:09)
14. One More Mile (2:42)
15. The Ballad of the Sad Young Men (4:26)
16. Up State (2:33)
17. You Came a Long Way from St. Louis (4:15)
18. Senor Blues (2:47)
19. Boogie Blues (3:47)
20. A Woman Alone with the Blues (3:21)
21. I Want to Sing a Song (2:46)
22. Night Bird (3:59)
23. Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me (4:09)
CD9 {00:53:38}
01. Peel Me a Grape (3:06)
02. Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year (3:26)
03. The Party's Over (2:23)
04. Your Red Wagon (2:51)
05. It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream (3:02)
06. Thanks for the Memory (2:48)
07. Just in Time (2:51)
08. Under a Blanket of Blue (2:24)
09. An Occasional Man (2:31)
10. I Believe in You (2:27)
11. Mister Sandman (1:58)
12. I'm Not Supposed to Be Blue Blues (2:36)
13. All Too Soon (3:18)
14. Let Me Off Uptown (3:02)
15. Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) (3:51)
16. When the World Was Young (3:35)
17. My Ship (4:32)
18. Whisper Not (2:57)
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