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Womens voices have an especially magical quality on SETS.Any favorite recordings?
Follow Ups:
nt
Didn't knoew that was available on vinyl, gonna have to keepo an eye out for that one . . . .
z
I have one more recommendation:Michelle Shocked, Short, Sharp, Shocked -- A Two Disc Edition
In particular, the more intimate rendition of "Anchorage" on the
second disc.There are others in this collection as well :)
June Christy "something cool" capitol 10",
Montserrat Caballe "A Richard Strauss Song Recital" RCA red seal,
Carmen McRae "Velvet Soul" Groove Merchant Two Record Set.Anything By Montserrat Caballe is pretty good, this album is just her and piano singing in German! I met an old opera singer who played me some of her early spanish home label albums, AMAZING! I don't know where you would get some of those, but worth trying.
The Carmen McRae album is really cool, Ray Brown-Bass, Joe Pass-Guitar, Larry Bunker-Vibes and Percusion, Dick Shreve-Piano, Frank Servino-Drums, and of course Carmen singing! Suberb recording, worth it just for a reference of what stand up bass should sound like.
And I can't forget my favorite guilty pleasure, Kay Starr "Swingin'", coolest, most swingin' version of "Ghost riders in the sky" ever.
Yippe Yi Yo!
1'st BILLIE HOLIDAY (remastered editions, lps 1950-1959)- ABSOLUTE WINNER
2nd ELLA FITZGERALD
3rd SARAH VAUGHAN
4th DINAH WASHINGTON
Sorry for ultimative choice :-)
Gian Luca
even tho she sings in French (she was a member of the Maquis, the Resistance,tho), and Caeseria Evora, too, from Africa but sings in Portuguese.
Billie ,Ella, Sarah ,Dinah....yes.....and Thank you all
You've reminded me of another favorite of mine:
At the risk of sounding like some big queen:The Carpenters (excellent Golden Era audio analog recordings)
The Carpenters Xmas is also seasonal and fun.
Nanci Griffith: Other Voices, Other Rooms
Ella & Louis Armstrong (on the Verve label)
Kate Wolff (another folk singer I like)
Glady's Knight and The Pips (Midnight Train to Jawjah)
Lets not forget male vocals as well... My alltime favorite for
demoing my 845s to curious folk is Eric Clapton Unplugged. Its a
well executed recording that most people are familiar with.Neil Young / Old Ways / Zuma
Jackson Brown Pretender / Saturate When Wet
Newer stuff that I've yet to purchase but will (once I finish moving
and unpacking): Paula Cole, Tori Amos.I'm also curious about some of Elton John's stuff - since I've
become recently obsessed with piano body sounds hahahaha.These all seem to sound well with fixed bias IT coupling and
vintage NOS oil caps in the power supply and vigorous use of
mercury vapour... Some of the Jackson Browne recordings sound
better with cathode bias, Black Gates as bypass and rare German Wehrmacht PIO caps in the Ultrapath position. See, now I too
can be a high end critic. ;)
.
nt
i'll have to check out lee wiley.let me make another offering: astrud gilberto. she was a big star but hearing her potential she could have been much bigger. maybe everyone seemed to want a piece of her and i think perhaps there is too much variety in her repertoire. so some songs are very appealing and some not.
anyone she can occasionally sing so beautifully that you could be brought to tears. the brazilian artists that accompany her can really deal with the subtle and stan getz's beautiful emotional and impactful solos are like frosting on the cake.
Astrud is described by a jazz writer as 'one of the most exquisite singers i have ever heard: subtle, subdued, understated, expressive, and with remarkable time.....her slight, wistful, almost childlike voice had an enormous appeal to a great many people.'
i have two cds by her. one is the 'silver collection' which i don't find that good, and one is one that i picked up today: astrud gilberto: jazz masters 9'. it's much better selected material. audio quality is good.
first time i'm hearing her on a set!!
i thought if i ever hear the song 'girl from ipanema' again, it would kill me. but there is a fresh version of it for me on this cd: a live carnegie hall version. it's incredible. some critics seem to think it's a lifeless version, but i feel the opposite. it's the most subtle, subdued, laid-back, understated, bare-boned version i ever heard. so suited it is to astrud's real capability, that after she comes in with the first couple of verses, there is an appreciative audience applause.
On of my favorites.If I put that on when someone is visiting, they invariably ask what it is.
regards
Oh yes, Blossom Dearie is lovely through SETs--the song njjohn refers to can be heard on "Once Upon a Summerime" from Verve, one of my favorite of her many albums--every number is a surprise and a treat. Also Ella Fitzgerald, particularly "Pure Ella" on Decca/GRP, a frequently overlooked but really wonderful, soulful offering from her. If you want to hear what a very smooth, very dry and utterly delicious martini might sound like, try Lee Wiley on "Night in Manhattan/Sings Vincent Youmans/Sings Irving Berlin" from Collector's Choice. Like Dearie, she's a bit of an acquired taste but once you're hooked you're really hooked, IMHO. The two-disc Billie Holiday set from Decca/GRP featuring her mid- to late-forties recordings contains some incredible things. Lots of more up-to-date things, too, like Shirley Horn etc. but I'm sure others will offer more.
i first heard her on a disc set called 'the verve story' 1944-1994. there is only one song by her on this 4 disc set: a song called 'surrey with the fringe on top'. when i heard this song, i could not believe it. i thought: 'where did she come from?' i played that song over and over trying to understand her intonations. she's from the generation before me and one of their best kept secrets.as an aside, i highly recommended the 4 disc verve recording. it's the best compilation since smithsonian. it contains the tremendous live performances that put verve on the map. (i didn't realize jazz in the 40's was that good.) 4 songs after the blossom dearie song is the famous 'mack the knife' renditon by ella. good quality audio recording too. i've only begun to tap into this compilation.
anyway, i picked up 'blossom dearie, the diva series', by verve. it's very good. blossom is a very interesting singer. each word is delivered with its own intonation as if she was a professional actress. but she a natural.
an interesting singer which the set will pick up all the intonations, attitudes she has, changes in emphasis from word to word. and she plays beautiful piano too, which of course, the set will also show. :)
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