Jazz Is His Old Lady & My Old Man [Import]

Earl 'Fatha' Hines And Marva J (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 8, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: ACROBAT
• ASIN: B0000W3YZ6
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,504 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Jazz Is My Old Lady

2. Squeeze Me

3. Yellow Days

4. Deed I Do

5. They?ll Be Some Changes Made

6. Blue Skies

7. Hey Love

8. Make It Easy On Yourself

9. Feelings

10. Candy

Editorial Reviews

The great Earl Hines first met Marva Josie in 1968, impressed by her range, style and appearance she became the latest in a long line of important vocalists who had worked with the master pianist. Following in the footsteps of Herb Jeffries, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Hartman and Etta Jones. All of whom owed some part of their career to Hines. On this album recorded for Catalyst in 1977 her versatility is well in evidence as she sings a variety of numbers ranging wildly in tempo, age and mood. Underneath it all is Earl Hines lifting the ensemble and soloists to new heights.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overly qualified and exploited potential jazz diva, March 22, 2004

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jazz Is His Old Lady & My Old Man (Audio CD)

This recent, hastily assembled reissue is the only recording I've discovered by Marva Josie, a glamorous and gifted vocalist who should have been a "can't miss" star. On the occasions I was fortunate enough to catch her live, she simply brought down the house on the strength of her powerful and virtuosic interpretations of admittedly inferior material. On a recording such as this, however, the flimsiness of Marva's repertory--a combination of popular ephemeral tunes ("Feelings"--yuck!) and tired "jazz-age" chestnuts--along with indifferent arrangements, inferior audio, and sloppy production values, insure that her voice will have little appeal to any listener outside of someone like me who remembers her electrifying live performances.

Artists like Ellington and Hines could not follow their creative muses without frequently playing "down" to the public. Broad and boisterous entertainment was the ticket to commercial success and a means of subsidizing their passion. Hard as it is to admit, they essentially "used" vocalists as a device for putting a "voice" (not to mention a pretty face or arresting figure) on their music. At least the emphasis on "show business" could capture the notice of a public otherwise clueless to Duke's or Earl's actual importance and musical genius.

Unfortunately, Marva Josie could not have realized that her 12 year-plus tenure with Fatha was less of a platform than a dead end. In her case, one can only wonder "what if--."