Customer Reviews

Hollar

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Let's say that God wants a choir. He picks Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Then it's Billie Holiday, (well, if it was me, I'd pick Anita O'Day, but who am I to argue with God?). And now who? St Peter suggests Carmen McRae or maybe Dinah Washington. God ponders - those would be great choices. But then He smiles. Of course! The Forgotten Lady!! Etta Jones!!!

Etta Jones was absolutely the best singer that hardly anybody had ever heard of - and when they had, they thought she was Etta James. Starting with her break out album, "Don't Go to Strangers," in 1960, Ms Jones made a string of records for Prestige that are among the best ever recorded by a female jazz vocalist, (yeah, I know the guys at "The All Music Guide to Jazz" say her later albums for Muse are better, but I respectfully disagree).

How can I put this? If you've ever wondered what Billie Holiday might have sounded like if her voice had not been ravaged by dope - give Etta Jones a listen. But I don't mean to imply that Ms Jones was some sort of "Holiday wannabe." No in deed! She had her own sound and a deceptively simple style that seemed to find the heart of every song she sang.

"Hollar!" is a set of standards including "I Got It Bad, (and That Ain't Good)," "Our Love is Here to Stay" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me." On four of these songs, Ms Jones is backed by the band that played on "Don't Go to Strangers," plus Oliver Nelson on tenor and vibist Len Winchester; on five of the cuts she's backed by a quartet featuring pianist Jimmy Neeley; and on "Nature Boy," (I confess, not even Ms Jones can make me like this piece of schmaltz), she fronts a band that includes both Kenny Burrell and Bucky Pizzarelli on guitars.

The sound is excellent. Say what you will about Rudy Van Gelder and some of his excesses - the guy is the best engineer on the planet. Almost 50 years later, this record sounds like it was recorded yesterday.

If you love music, you will appreciate the balladry of the incomparable Etta Jones, a singular talent. Sophisticated, earthy, and right on spot with her choice of songs. Houston Person sometimes playing saxophone, like only he can. They carry along a great tradition of tasty soulful jazz.