everybodydigs# is a series of posts about Jazz, Funk, Soul & R’n’b albums released from the 20s to the 90s, you can read a brief description/review and listen to a small preview (when it’s possible). everybodydigs# is like when someone tells you “hey you should listen to this album!” and nothing less, enjoy!

The rare performer who achieved success in critical, artistic, and commercial terms. Dinah Washington was both the queen of the black jukebox and the consummate musicians’s musician. She was comfortable in virtually any musical context, but something special always happened when she surrounded herself with top-notch jazz musicians and let them wail.

After Hours With Miss “D,” featuring an extraordinary rhythm section and such outstanding soloists as Clark Terry, Paul Quinchette, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, is one of Washington’s most jazz-oriented albums-and one of her most exciting.

Personnel: Dinah Washington (voice); Clark Terry (trumpet); Gus Chappell (trombone); Rick Henderson (alto saxophone); Eddie Chamblee (tenor saxophone); Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (tenor saxophone); Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone); Clarence “Sleepy” Anderson (piano); Junior Mance (piano); Jackie Davis (organ); Keter Betts (bass); candido Camero (congas); Ed Thigpen (drums).

Rappamelo’s favorite track:

everybodydigs# is a series of posts about Jazz, Funk, Soul & R’n’b albums released from the 20s to the 90s, you can read a brief description/review and listen to a small preview (when it’s possible). everybodydigs# is like when someone tells you “hey you should listen to this album!” and nothing less, enjoy!

Taken from a couple of sessions taped during 1955-1956, Lady Sings the Blues finds Holiday in top form and backed by the sympathetic likes of tenor saxophonists Budd Johnson and Paul Quinichette, trumpeter Charlie Shavers, pianist Wynton Kelly, and guitarist Billy Bauer. And while these autumnal sides bear some of the frayed vocal moments often heard on Holiday’s ’50s Verve sides, the majority here still ranks with her best material. This is especially true of the cuts from a June 1956 date, which produced unparalleled versions of “No Good Man,” “Some Other Spring,” and “Lady Sings the Blues.”

Personnel: Billie Holiday (vocals); Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel (guitar); Anthony Sciacca (clarinet); Willie “The Lion” Smith (alto saxophone); Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone); Harry “Sweets” Edison , Charlie Shavers (trumpet); Wynton Kelly, Bobby Tucker (piano); Red Callender, Aaron Bell (bass guitar); Chico Hamilton, Leonard Browne (drums).

Rappamelo’s favorite track:

everybodydigs# is a series of posts about Jazz, Funk, Soul & R’n’b albums released from the 20s to the 90s, you can read a brief description/review and listen to a small preview (when it’s possible). everybodydigs# is like when someone tells you “hey you should listen to this album!” and nothing less, enjoy!

This 1954 studio date, a self-titled album recorded for Emarcy, was later reissued as Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown to denote the involvement of one of the top trumpeters of the day. Vaughan sings nine intimate standards with a band including Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, and Paul Quinichette on tenor, each of which have plenty of space for solos (most of the songs are close to the five-minute mark). Vaughan is arguably in the best voice of her career here, pausing and lingering over notes on the standards “April in Paris,” “Jim,” and “Lullaby of Birdland.” As touching as Vaughan is, however, Brown almost equals her with his solos on “Lullaby of Birdland,” “Jim,” and “September Song,” displaying his incredible bop virtuosity in a restrained setting without sacrificing either the simple feeling of his notes or the extraordinary flair of his choices. Quinichette’s solos are magnificent as well, his feathery tone nearly a perfect match for Vaughan’s voice. Ironically though, neither Brown nor Quinichette or Mann appear on the album’s highlight, “Embraceable You,” which Vaughan performs with close accompaniment from the rhythm section: Jimmy Jones on piano, Joe Benjamin on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. Vaughan rounds the notes with a smile and even when she’s steeping to reach a few low notes, she never loses the tremendous feeling conveyed by her voice. In whichever incarnation it’s reissued, Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown is one of the most important jazz-meets-vocal sessions ever recorded. (allmusic)

Personnel: Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Ernie Wilkins (arranger); Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone); Clifford Brown (trumpet); Herbie Mann (flute); Jimmy Jomes (piano); Joe Benjamin (bass); Roy Haynes (drums).

Rappamelo’s favorite track: