All the Sad Young Men

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From her days with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton in the '40s, Anita O'Day was a genuine jazz singer who could make the most of a big-band date. This 1961 recording pairs her with arranger Gary McFarland, who was just beginning to demonstrate his talent for creating constantly shifting backdrops filled with unexpected rhythmic figures and voicings. The title song and Willard Robson's "A Woman Alone with the Blues" gain orchestral dimension from McFarland's writing, while he's able to put his own stamp on Ellington's "Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me." The songs are well-chosen vehicles for O'Day, a singer capable of both bemused irony and emotional directness, with the diction for Broadway lyrics and a facility for inventive scat singing. "Boogie Blues" updates an early O'Day hit with Gene Krupa's band, while Al Cohn's "Night Bird" and Horace Silver's "Senor Blues" are unusual in being big-band vocal treatments of bop tunes. The band is terrific, and altoist Phil Woods and guitarist Barry Galbraith make particularly good solo contributions. O'Day's vocals were overdubbed at separate sessions. It may add to the vocal presence, and given her scat exchange with Willie Dennis's trombone on "Up State," it seems to take nothing away from her involvement in the band. --Stuart Broomer

Product Description

This 1961 recording finds Anita doing what all great jazz interpreters do-drawing on something old to create something new. She takes '40s classics, as well as Horace Silver and Al Cohn originals, and turns 'em inside out, with the help of some great Gary McFarland arrangements. Includes Boogie Blues; Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me; One More Mile; You Came a Long Way from St. Louis; Se+Ýor Blues , and five more., ISBN13: B00000DBYV ISBN10: B00000DBYV Material Type: audioCD