Customer Reviews

Alexandria the Great (Dig)

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A great album as the title makes clear. Stylistically, this is Lorez at her best. Listen to her version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." Perhaps, not a Jazz song for the purists per se, however, this rendition is classy and refined and oh so sweet!

I imagine many Jazz singers of today have attemted to copy the vocal stylings of Lorez's delivery with the inflections and vocal nuances. These attributes came naturally to Ms. Alexandria as she sings the ten contained classics.

Dolorez Alexandria Turner, aka "Lorez Alexandria," grew up singing gospel with her family in Chicago's churches. She moved on to secular music in the early 1950's, working the Chicago nightclub circuit and recorded her first records in about 1957. By the time she recorded "Lorez Alexandria the Great" in 1964, Ms Alexandria was an accomplished jazz singer.

Ms Alexandria had an elegant, smokey contralto voice, a gift for subtle and precise phrasing and a natural swinging delivery.

"Lorez Alexandria the Great" is a set of standards, including "I've Never Been in Love Before," "The Best is Yet to Come," "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face" and "I'm Through With Love." Every song is delivered gently, wrapped in the velvet of Ms Alexandria's voice - it is a lovely set.

Ms Alexandria's accompanists are top notch - ranging from a trio on some cuts to a full orchestra on others. The contributors are too numerous to list, but they include such well known jazzers as pianist Wynton Kelly, flutist Bud Shank, flutist and saxman Paul Horn, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb.

The sonics are good but not great - Ms Alexandria's voice is well presented, but there's not much instrumental separation.