Customer Reviews

Dinah Jams

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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Unlike many jazz CDS featuring a vocalist, this one gives the band its due! (Considering the band here, that was a very good move.) The Clifford Brown/Max Roach band (with regulars Harold Land (ts), Ritchie Powell (p), and George Morrow (b), joined by the outstanding Maynard Ferguson and Clark Terry (t), Junior Mance (p), Herb Geller (as), and Keeter Betts on bass) is as excellent here as on "Study in Brown." Neither the band nor Ms. Washington's talents are compromised, instead there is a fine balance of band only("Summertime"), Ms. Washington with minimal accompaniment ("There is No Greater Love," "Come Rain or Come Shine"), or, as promised, Dinah and the band jamming together with swinging confidence (Lover Come Back to Me," "You Go to My Head").

This is an immensely satisfying album (and my CD doesn't even contain the last three songs included in Amazon's version) The songs, most of them standards, are given fresh interpretations: The rhythm section is tremendous on "I Got You Under My Skin", layering a surging, urgent current under Ms. Washington's alternately measured and belting, soulful vocals, and the brilliant exchanges among the trumpets. Ms. Washington imparts a late-night saloon feeling to "You Ain't Gonna Bother Me," crystal Eckstine-like voicing on "Come Rain or Come Shine," and an incomparable version of "There is No Greater Love." The appreciative audience loved Dinah and the band (and this is incredibly well-recorded for a 1954 live performance!), and so will you. Highly recommended!

I have had this album for a few years now, and it is absolutely fabulous JAZZ! The title of the album is a bit misleading because in addition to Dinah's wonderfully soulful voice, the album has some awesome personnel in the jam session, including Clifford Brown (trumpet), Max Roach (drums), and Harold Land (piano). The best part is that all of the artists are showcased. It is a wonderful session. Each song is a standout, but my favorites include....

Lover Come Back To Me (Dinah Rocks here)

Summertime (very short, but you will see why Clifford Brown was one of the best ever, even though he lived only 25 years)

Come Rain or Come Shine (not too many people mentioned this one, but like the crowd screaming in the background of the loud recording, I was moved by Dinah's vocals)

Crazy He Calls Me (amazing ballad; similarity between Washington and Esther PHillips amazing here)

Lover Come Back To Me (wow!!!)

BUY IT!!!!!

Who knew what a classic a jam session could produce? I'm sure even the producers didn't know it would turn out so well. Dinah and her elite sidemen were clearly inspired by each other's presence because each song just sizzles. And with a live studio audience in the house(you can hear their appreciative applause), the songstress and her band were clearly pumped by the event. My favorites are Dinah's take-offs of the Billie Holiday classics, "Crazy He Calls Me" "No More" "There Is No Greater Love". Dinah bears resemblance to her idol, Lady Day, but makes these songs her own by infusing them with more verve and energy than Lady's versions. Then Dinah cools down the heat with her cool, yet smokey version of "Darn That Dream", itself worth the purchase price of this CD.

You know, for a vocal jazz album with a 10 piece band recorded in 1954, Dinah Jams! has an amazingly clear, crisp, spare, spacious sound. From the pounding opener "Lover, Come Back to Me," you can tell the band has a great amount of restraint, despite the incredible capabilities of some of its personel(check out Clifford Brown's breathtaking solo reading of "Summertime" and you may hear notes you never thought a trumpet could hit.)

This clarity, gives Dinah's powerful, high-pitched blues-wail a great deal of attention, which works to all of her advantages. Rather than coming across as a sappy vocal album, the band comes across as lean and tough, almost like a punk rock band. This album certainly had as much if not more energy and passion as the rock and roll and was blossoming around the same time.

That being said, this album is a stone-cold classic in the world of vocal jazz. Taped in front of a studio audience, it captures a great deal of the ambience of those classic clubs like the Royal Roost and Birdland. You can almost smell the fried chicken, bourbon, and cigarettes as light smoke and steam waft through the air.

This may not be the most accessible of Dinah's albums, but if you've got a predilection for hard driving jazz with a tough, bluesy edge you will love Dinah Jams! And if you are like I was in 10th grade: a punk rock fan looking to branch out into jazz, then this album would be an excellent place to start. For all intents and purposes, this album is just as visceral as any of Elvis Costello's early albums or the Clash's early albums. Plus, it's got Max Roach on drums, and he's as punk as they come.

Dinah jams.With stars.Which ones? Clifford Brown,Clark Terry,Herb Geller,Harold Land,Junior Mance,Richie Powell (Bud's brother,who died in the same car crash in which Cifford Brown was killed),Keeter Betts,George Morrow and Max Roach.Oh yes,I didn't mentionned Maynard Ferguson among these stars;sorry,but definetely I don't like him.His pyrotechnical effects never reached me.
Dinah's voice,the most emotionnal one after Billie,always was one of my favorites,with Lil Green.Her incredibly sensual,...her magnificent diction and her blues-tinted,popular accent moves me like mad.This very relaxed,jam-session like recording session took place on August 14,1954 in L.A."LOver,come back to me",somptuously recorded by Billie some years before,offers nine minutes and fourty five seconds of pure joy,with great solos by Brownie,Geller,Mance,Clark Terry and the imperial Max Roach."Alone together",a haunting ballad,features Harold Land's underrated tenor sax.Dinah is back for a moving version of "come rain or come shine";her blues and gospel tinted voice marvels.The very rare "No more",a Bob Russell tune was outstandingly recorded by Billie on her Decca sides,at the end of the fourties.Dinah's interpretation can easily match with Lady Day's."I've got you under my skin",Frank Sinatra's anthem,is introduced by Dinah with only Max Roach's african drumming;then comes the bass,then the piano and the rest of the band.What a swing !!! But would it be possible to miss such a beautiful tune ? Clark Terry and Brownie play magnificently,Ferguson doesn't.And he's beaten by the two others,wether the subject is to play very high notes,or to play very quickly."There is no greater love" is another beautiful vocal by Dinah.Then,"you go to my head" is another masterpiece.This very great standard,with magnificent lyrics,which must be extremely difficult to sing (just as Duke Ellington's "Azalea",for example) will be compared to Billie's majestuous version (Verve Records),and surely will match.Eleven minutes of happiness."Crazy he calls me" is another wonderful tune,which was also sung by Billie.I would have loved to be in this recording studio on that day.A very important record by the great Miss Dinah Washington...

There is no question that had Dinah Washington not been taken so soon from this world, she would now stand as the greatest jazz vocalist ever. Her influence is enormous, from Aretha Franklin to Macy Gray and on this album we catch her 'au naturel' with a backing band worthy of her presence. From the sublime melody of "Summertime" to the swinging standard "I've Got You Under My Skin", the results are uniformly fantastic.

The two standout performances are the beautiful ballad "There Is No Greater Love" (eat your heart out, Whitney) to the peerless "You Go To My Head" which is eleven minutes of musical viagra. As Dinah slips in to the last verse of the latter song, you just want to jump up for the sheer joy of the song. This is a truly exceptional album by the unique and wonderful Ms Washington.

No wonder they call this woman the Queen. She can sing ANYTHING. Especially recommended for fans of Jazz. The solos ( and there are many - that's why it's called "Dinah Jams" DUH ) are smokin red hot! This was recorded live, so expect improvisation, both vocal and instrumental. Many of these songs go over 5 minutes, one for over eleven ( !!! ) hardly the juke-box fare Dinah was initially known for. Legendary players , legendary vocalist.

I admit to a very spotty interest in jazz over my life time and while I have always loved those 1940's swing bands, like that of Benny Goodman, it was only with the celebration of the centennial of Duke Ellington's birth in 1999 that I got a little more serious about this genre. Ken Burns' "Jazz" series for PBS gave me another boost. Still and all there are huge gaps in my knowledge and appreciation of the classic jazz tradition. This is a little odd in that there is a certain convergence between jazz and my favorite musical genre, the blues. The artist under review here exemplifies both those traditions, although she was not known as a jazz singer, as such. All I know is I like what I hear here.

And what is that? Well, how about a very salacious "Lover Come Back To Me", a heartfelt turn on the Johnny Mercer tune "Come Rain Or Come Shine", a seemingly created for her style Cole Porter classic " I've Got You Under My Skin" and a knock out "You Go To My Head". Hell, even if you don't know a thing about jazz you know Dinah has got that "thing".

What a thrill it is for me to have this CD after all those years of listening to it on Hi-Fi vinyl! I had no idea that Dinah Jams was out on CD with 3 bonus tracks. In my opinion, this recording is one of the best representations of live 1950's jazz ever made. Dinah Washington is backed by a stellar band containing a veritable who's who of jazz greats. This recording contains many moments of sheer musical genius. Be prepared to have your socks knocked off!

Dinah Washington is not one of the great jazz singers; but her voice is one of the great jazz instruments. And on "DINAH JAMS," Dinah Washington is surrounded by some unbelievable instruments: her regular trio (with pianist Junior Mance), the Max Roach Quintet (Clifford Brown and tenor Harold Land) plus sitters-in alto Herb Gellar, Clark Terry and Maynard. Yeah, that's right ... Brown Terry Ferguson. Stand the hell back. Put the trumpets down and step away from the vocalist. Damn. I cannot take this CD out of my player. This month I have added Monk, Mose, and MJQ to my collection, as well as some reasonably priced `tween-war music. All of these should be fighting for a place in the rotation, and it should be a fair fight. But it isn't. Dinah jams. That's all. If all I had was one track on a mix tape, I would probably rewind that one track and listen to it to the exclusion of all else. It makes me dizzy to think about that, but in a good way.

Of course, there is a second part to this story -- or, more accurately, there is a second recording from this night. It was released as Clifford Brown's "Jam Session," and Verve has it in their Verve Vault where out-of-print recordings are available via downloads. You have to buy them, still, but that wouldn't be so bad -- if I were a member of the computer world. I'm sure that there is an intersection between people who buy downloads for their i-pods and people who can't sleep at night because there are Maynard high-notes dancing in their heads. Still, it seems likely to be a cruelly small cross-section. Small enough to exclude me, certainly. But enough of my fibber-flabbing. I have 2 1/2 minutes of Gershwin's Summertime played in a register that is mostly used by bats, so I'm not complaining. I mean, yes, I am, but mostly in an "I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis" way.