The Best of Etta Jones: The Prestige Singles

Etta Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 2, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Prestige
• ASIN: B000063DHN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,031 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don't Go To Strangers

2. If I Had You

3. Canadian Sunset

4. That's All There Is To That

5. Till There Was You

6. All The Way

7. Unchained Melody/Hurry Home

8. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis

9. Just Friends

10. I'll Be There

11. In The Dark

12. Nature Boy

13. Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo

14. Love Walked In

15. Old Folks

16. Someday My Prince Will Come

17. The Gal From Joe's

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Starter, March 14, 2004

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Etta Jones: The Prestige Singles (Audio CD)

My first recordings of Etta are from 1945, and her reading of Duke's "In My Solitude," while immediately summoning up Lady Day's, is in some respects a tad more "forward," assured and rewarding, while sacrificing none of the tune's warmth and soul. Her career would come to an end 56 years later, in October 2001, her passing occurring on the very day on which her final album, a tribute to Billie Holiday (on which she "channels" Billie on "Fine and Mellow) was released. Despite a distinguished career of over half a century, along with an impressive discography, many followers of the music are either unfamiliar with her or apt to confuse her with Etta James.

If you've just discovered Etta, or are curious about why some of us rank her with Ella, Sarah, and Billie, this is just about as good an introduction as you'll find. It collects some of the recorded highlights from the end of the first half of her career--the early '60's when her voice was probably at its very richest. Included here are fine cuts from her best albums--"Don't Go To Strangers," "Love Shout," "Lonely and Blue" with Gene Ammons' tenor, and "So Warm" with Oliver Nelson's orchestral arrangements. Still, given Etta's consistency during this time, there are as many notable omissions as essential inclusions. I'd hate to be without "Some Enchanted Evening" ("Love Shout") or "If You're But a Dream" ("Lonely and Blue"). Moreover, the collection doesn't represent her sterling work with Budd Johnson in the mid '40's, when she was among the best female jazz singers of the blues. Nor does it offer any of the grittier, lower-pitched but no less expressive Etta of the '80's and '90's, when she had a most productive musical relationship with tenor saxophonist Houston Person. Like every other single CD anthology by a major artist purporting to be the "Best of--", it's a somewhat misleading statement. On the other hand, unlike some similar titles purporting to represent other artists, vocal or instrumental, it's not a flagrant misrepresentation.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Etta's Greatest!, July 25, 2002

By 

Allen Bardin (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Etta Jones: The Prestige Singles (Audio CD)

In terms of performance and song selection, this really is the best of the sides the late Ms. Jones recorded during her tenure with Prestige. Always soulful and swinging, Etta Jones enjoyed praise from musicians, singers and fans, and deserves a lot more recognition than she got during her lifetime. If you have to get only one of Etta's discs - this is the one to shell out for.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be as much of a household name as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald., May 13, 2008

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Etta Jones: The Prestige Singles (Audio CD)

Fortunately for jazz lovers, Etta Jones's "Best of" CD was compiled and released in 2001 so we can hear these great songs on CD, with the sound enhanced by modern technology. With all the tracks being from 1960 - 1963, however, it omits the great songs she recorded later in her six decade career. Here she is in her early thirties, her enthusiasm and passion at their peak, and her vocal range, phrasing, and dramatic interpretations just beginning to catch on with her audience.

Obviously influenced by Billie Holiday, whose echoes we sometimes hear in her voice and sense of style, Jones sings mostly standards--primarily slow songs which allow her to develop narrative intensity as she creates her own mood and interpretation. "Don't Go to Strangers, " her only (huge) pop hit, showcases her alto voice and her vocal originality with a simple accompaniment, piano and bass, added guitar and flute for emphasis. "That's All There is to That" reminds one of Holiday, with a funky, bluesy beat. "Love Walked In" is zippy, with great rhythm and no sentimentality, and "Canadian Sunset" is an unusual uptempo with vibes.

Among the non-standards: "Old Folks," about a Civil War veteran who hangs out in a diner and tells stories becomes a poignant commentary on aging and death, and Kenny Burrell adds impact with his guitar. "The Gal from Joe's," with both Burrell and Bucky Pizzarelli, is a passionate vocal narrative about a gal who is leaving her job and how much Joe will miss her, a mood that is enhanced by the wailing sax of Jerome Richardson. And Frankie Laine would not recognize her "Nature Boy," as she eliminates the funky mystery of his version in favor of a more upbeat, swinging mood.

Etta Jones is a huge talent who has slipped through the cracks with many fans of sixties and seventies jazz, and she deserves attention. Admitting that she never sang a song the same way twice--and that she could not even sing along with her own recordings--Etta Jones is a free spirit who is not confined by the written notes or words, soaring into her own element on each recording and developing her own style. Her ability to "get into" a song rivals that of the best of the best, and this recording is a fine introduction to her work. n Mary Whipple

Don't Go to Strangers
Lonely and Blue
Something Nice
At Last
From the Heart