Customer Reviews

Cocktail Hour: Mildred Bailey

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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I'm sort of ambivalent about this 2-disc set. Don't get me wrong. The music is great and it certainly provides a broad perspective on the talents of this renowned jazz vocalist. Born on February 27, 1907 Mildred, one of THE most admired within the industry, sang in front of a multitude of big bands, including her own, after getting her start with the Paul Whiteman orchestra in 1929, thanks to the efforts of her brother, Al Rinker. These included Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra, Benny Goodman and, of course, her husband, Red Norvo, among many others.

It's just that, in the days before the LP, a hit single was the goal of any vocalist (and, of course, their label) and in Mildred's case she registered 22 as a "solo" artist from 1932 to 1947, in addition to many more as a featured big band vocalist. And here, in a 28-track set, less than half (9 to be exact) were hits, these being Rocking Chair (# 13 in 1937 with Matty Malneck's orchestra), I'll Never Be The Same and We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye (# 14 and # 3 in 1932 - both with Paul Whiteman's orchestra), Honeysuckle Rose, Says My Heart, and I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (# 9 in 1935, # 4 in 1938, and # 11 in 1937 - all with Red Norvo), Darn That Dream (# 1 in 1940 with Benny Goodman), and My Reverie and Small Fry (# 10 and # 9 in 1938 with her own band).

Left out from among her many hits were major entries such as Lazy Bones (a # 9 in 1933 with The Dorsey Brothers),Trust In Me (# 4 in 1937), Where Are You? (# 5 in 1937), and Never In A Million Years (# 8 in 1937) - all fronting her own band. Another major omission was 1938's So Help Me, which reached # 2.

And, as with the others in this Cocktail Hour series (e.g., Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, Al Jolson, Vaughn Monroe, Jimmy Durante, and The Mills Brothers - to name a few), there are no liner notes to provide background information on the artist or the selections included. Something that just doesn't sit well with many music fans these days, many of us spoiled by the likes of Ace Records of London in that regard.

Not a bad compilation - but then, not great either. My recommendation would be to check out some of the other Mildred Bailey offerings.

Finally, to answer that last reviewer's question, yes that's Mildred on Junk Man. The problem was, in the sample audio provided by Amazon all you hear is about 20 seconds of an 85-second orchestral introduction by Benny Goodman's band before Mildred kicks in, something that was fairly common with all big-band records of the era.

For starters, I don't get my colleague's comments about the absence of Mildred on 'Junk Man' - my copy of the Cocktail Hour certainly has a vocal on that track that sounds like Bailey (if it isn't her, maybe someone could clarify this for us? (--: ).. anyway: this is a double CD of swing standards plus nifty straight-ahead blues: 'Washboard Blues', 'Me and The Blues', 'Downhearted Blues', etc. Her work with Red Norvo, whom she later married, is superb ('Says My Heart', 'The Gypsy in My Soul'). 'My Reverie' with her own Orchestra is a really sweet ballad. Mildred swings, but also she has a certain edgy sassiness that was missing with the popular 'sweet' female vocalists of the BigBand era. As always, Cocktail Hour delivers quality and great value.

I don't know toomuch about Mildred Bailey, although apparently she was very popular back in the 30's but is largely forgotten now. I have two of her CD's, some of her stuff is okay, but some of the other songs she songs are great. On this CD, the song "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" is worth the price of the CD by itself. Mildred Bailey may not have had the greatest range of any singer, but she knew how to swing, and how to carry a song. I read somewhere that she was an influence on Billie Holiday, and on some of the songs you could imagine Lady Day singing these songs herself.

the musical sample for junk man,a benny goodman recording in 1933, does not include mildred baileys vocal.Presumably shes the reason for the sample.