 Anita O'Day Anita O'Day's installment in the Verve Jazz Masters series is very much like her voice itself: smoky, expressive, comfortable, and beautiful, but not especially engaging emotionally. O'Day was one of the big band singer superstars, and in the post-big band era (this disc collects performances from 1952-62) she still sang like a big band singer, never really finding a deep intimacy in her voice even when singing with small groups. Virtually everything Anita O'Day has recorded is good, but not much of it has ever been great, as in the touched-by-fire genius of Nina Simone or the indiviualistic charm of Blossom Dearie (both of whom have good Verve Jazz Masters collections as well). Her style is showy and often humorous, sometimes very sexy, and always conscious of the listener's presence. Much like Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day is always at her best on off-the-cuff improvs like "Them There Eyes," inlcuded here in a rapid-fire assault that can only be compared to "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)," which by the way, I still insist should be recorded as a duet by Ani Difranco and Tom Lehrer. It would be silly to hold consummate professionalism against Anita O'Day simply because I prefer my singers a bit more unglued or oddball. A bit of context helps: check out "Angel Eyes" and "Fly Me to the Moon" on this disc and then listen to Sinatra's "definitive" versions. O'Day finds more to say in one word of either of those songs than Frank ever found in forty-five years of drunken stumbling. "Fly Me to the Moon" in particluar is an amazing performance (she's backed by the Three Sounds on that one), just one of many on this disc, which, like most of the other volumes in the series, is probably the best single-disc introduction to the performer's work. Not being a big fan of big-band jazz, I was glad that most of the tracks here stick to small groups. The track listing is a good blend of slow-brewing bluesy standards ("Ten Cents a Dance," "That Old Feeling"), romantic songs ("Old Devil Moon," "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"), and the requisite 40s holdovers ("Johnny One Note," "No Soap, No Hope Blues"). While there is not a bad track on the CD, it really depends on the connection you get from O'Day's voice that determines how much you'll enjoy it overall. The producers have done a great job in reflecting the many facets of O'Day's voice and "showing us the money" regarding her oft-discussed greatness in the chanteuse pantheon. For me, though, it may be that most things from the 40s and 50s leave me a bit cold and I end up respecting the CD more than loving it. Typical of Verve CDs, this one is ideal late-night or ealry-morning listening, great for sex with the new wife or brunch with grandma. Just try not to confuse the two!
Review by Mimi Halfway |