CD-Charts Position 21
Average Rating:

Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Etta James

Release Date March 15, 1994
In 1995 I jumped into the backseat of a car. This CD was playing. Lady in the front seat asks the driver who was singing. He replies "that's Etta James." She says "Damn, that's Etta? Yeah, that's back when you heard a woman singing and you knew who was doing the singing."

I bought the CD that very night and have been listening to it constantly from that point on. Even if you're not a Billie Holiday fan or for that matter, an Etta James fan, this one is just a must-have. You won't stop listening.

CD-Charts Position 22
Average Rating:

The Complete Johnny Mercer Songbook

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date November 03, 1998
All three discs are great, but the third (instrumental and jazzy)is outstanding. Old enough to be exposed to the popular Mercer tunes and understandingly biased regarding the commercialization of his stuff, I was thrilled to hear these renditions by the great artists selected for this disc. Worth the price for just the last disc-so consider the other two as bonuses.

CD-Charts Position 23
Average Rating:

All the Way

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Etta James

Release Date March 14, 2006
I knew I had a problem with Etta when I realized I had bought two copies of "Blues to the Bone". It didn't surprise me one bit when the 2003 Grammys awarded it "Best Blues Album of the Year."

I'm not precisely sure why Ms. James is doing a covers CD. To me, that's the mark of a performer's descent and Etta seems to have only recently just hit her stride. Then again, she's done a sweet job on most of these songs.

Well, and if she's going to do covers, why not do the best? Most folks generally think of Ms. James singing jazz and blues, but she takes on John Lennon's "Imagine" and does a respectable job with understated unpreachy delivery and instrumentation.

I've heard "I Believe I can Fly" from weddings ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 24
Average Rating:

Dinah Jams

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Dinah Washington

Release Date June 01, 1990
When you open up the CD and you see the picture of all of those legends playing together in this incredible 1954 session, as a jazz fan it's hard not to be overwhelmed. For let's see... you've not only got the fabulous Miss D, but add into the mix Brownie, Clark Terry & Maynard Ferguson as your trumpet trio, Herb Geller on alto sax with the very underated Harold Land on tenor, Richie Powell & Junior Mance on piano, George Morrow and Keeter Betts on bass, and of course Brownie's right hand man, Max Roach on drums. Now you tell me, as a fan of jazz, what more do you need to be motivated to make this purchase? This is one of the most memorable jam sessions ever in the history of jazz music.

I've listened to this CD over and over and over ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 25
Average Rating:

Lady in Satin

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date September 23, 1997
When I was very young, I heard my mother play this record, and I envisioned the singer as follows: she bathed in milk, ate chocolate for breakfast, wore violets and fur all year round, and took frequent vacations on other planets; equal parts Venus de Milo, Mother Earth, and the Tooth Fairy. Years later, I read Lady's book and found out that I was both 100% wrong and 100% right. I also started buying Lady's early works, and I understood how she arrived here.

Lady in Satin is a work of sublime majesty and grandeur. If you've ever wondered whether there was life after Bird and before Trane, buy the record. If you've ever wondered whether jazz can be sung with strings and a chorus, buy the record. If you've ever wondered whether Marvin Gaye or Robert Palmer ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 26
Average Rating:

Great Ladies of Jazz

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date April 16, 1995
Great Ladies of Jazz is a very solid CD that features some really great songs performed by some of the very best female jazz singers ever. The quality of the sound is fantastic; and the artwork is very well done as well.

"It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a live track of the great Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady Of Song; and Ella swings this out like the pro she always was! The piano arrangement is stunning and Ella really throws herself into this number. If you listen it's immediately apparent that Ella enjoyed a great rapport with her audience, too--she usually did! Ella was the best of them! Ella returns for "Our Love Is Here To Stay;" I love that horn treatment and the overall musical arrangement works wonders for "Our Love Is Here To Stay." ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 27
Average Rating:

Billie Holiday - Ultimate Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
starring: Billie Holiday

Release Date October 25, 2005
There was a good amount of footage of her, but not nearly enough and I didn't get to see her perform some of my favorites, but still worth owning.

CD-Charts Position 28
Average Rating:

First Issue: The Dinah Washington Story (The Original Recordings)

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Dinah Washington

Release Date June 22, 1993
I'm new to this artist and found this collection wonderful! The sound quality is great and so is the variety of songs.

CD-Charts Position 29
Average Rating:

Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits (Decca)

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date June 06, 1995
Nineteen mellow arrangements and a laid back Ms Holiday make for a very pleasant hour of listening pleasure. It can set the mood for a relaxed dinner party by having this play in the background.

CD-Charts Position 30
Average Rating:

The Chess Box

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Etta James

Release Date June 27, 2000
and good but brief notes. The 3 cd set and booklet is in a classy hardback book form with nice matt buff-colored paper, the cds set into the insides of the front and back covers. Thankfully session musicians as well as the producers are credited where possible.

The sound is good: I think you'd be proud to have this in your recorded music collection.