Customer Reviews

The Rockin' Chair Lady

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Mildred Bailey was not just the first real Jazz band singer. She was one of the earliest real jazz singers and she continued to have a jazz based strain to her singing throughout her career unlike some singers with her success who might have gone more pop. She was fun. She was fun. She was fun. She jived, she joked, she played. You are going to smile when you hear Mildred and know she is really serious when she is serious. She could bring out the jazz in the most wooden of accompaniest, but usually she had great musicians, white, black or otherwise playing behind her, because Mildred is fun.

In an age before television, Bailey continued to have fans white and Black who did not know she was white. This remains true even recently when I have loaned tapes of Mildred to other African Americans without any liner notes or anything and had them ask why they had never heard of this great Black singer.

However, I do find it distressing that Mildred Bailey seems to be so forgotten. She was the first prominent female band singer in Jazz. She was and is fun to listen to and a great voice. Mildred was actually able to swing and swing hard even with Paul Whiteman. She produced masterpieces using some of the same small groups as Billie Holday for HER Columbia recordings, although Bailey semed to prefer Herschal Evans to Lester Young. Bailey was also pretty out front for the time as a white female singer performing with an all black combo--"Mildred Baily and Her Oxford Browns." Mildred was simply magnificent in the small combos her husband Red Novro organized, She had a sense of humor about her performances and a bit of salaciousness that you won't find in Billie's recordings.

I don't think it was just out of sentimentality, but in tribute to her artistry, that Sinatra and Bing Crosby (who owed his career to Bailey's bringing him in contact with Whiteman)spent thousands of dollars helping her out in the last years of her life when health problems and the end of her career led her to very hard times.

Mildred was a great singer, a great jazz pioneer, and a lot of fun. How does anyone get along without the joy her music has brought to my life. There have been times when my life was worse than it is now when I was depressed and just thinking about one of Mildred's tracks on this CD started to turn my life around!

Prior to this collection, Mildred Bailey was a shadowy musical presence from the past for me--a skilled performer with an overly sweet voice devoted to lightweight interpretations of standards and blues. The first tune, "Willow Tree," did little to challenge my assumption, the radiant, high-pitched timbre almost belying the world-weary content of the song's lyrics. But with each new song in this 20-track anthology, the emotion and pathos become increasingly unmistakable in the singer's developing story. "Wrap Your Troubles" and "Sometimes I'm Happy," for example, contain sub-texts of unrest and despair, not so much depressing as provocative in their evocation of tragic resonances beneath the song's surface. Some present-day listeners may find this music dated, but to my ears these are timeless performances, expressing a sentiment that forces reconsideration of the meaning of the word "melodrama." Each of these little lyrics is a timeless musical drama as sung by M.B. Moreover, these performances are testimony to a lady who knows and truly can sing the blues.

There's also an impressive, thoughtful demonstration of wordless vocalese ("scat," if you will). Listen to her "clarinet" solo on "Blues in My Heart" and her Satchmo "trumpet" solo on "Sleepy Time." They're not the least bit contrived or extraneous but as valid and moving as a trumpet solo by Pops himself.

The only slight (very) downsides are some orchestral interludes that are not only dated but bland.

Mildred Bailey was quite a jazz singer and it's great to find CDs with lots of songs all performed by her! This is a must-have for Mildred Bailey fans and people who enjoy early jazz will want this as well. The quality of the sound is very good and I like that artwork, too.

"Willow Tree" has Mildred singing with "Her Alley Cats;" and she never skips a beat! Mildred handles complex tempo and key changes like a pro which she always was; and that's grand. "Honeysuckle Rose" gets a royal jazzy treatment from Mildred who sings this to perfection--and beyond! The changes in the arrangement make this a decidedly jazzy tune and Mildred makes it shine even brighter with her sophisticated phrasing. "Squeeze Me" is very well done and I also like "Down-Hearted Blues" which also features Mildred's "Alley Cats."

"When It's Sleepy Time Down South" features Mildred in her natural element; and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" gets a special arrangement to make it jazzy in just the very special way that only Mildred Bailey could perform it. "Georgia on My Mind" shines brighter than silver and gold when Mildred sings it with panache; and that music accompanying Mildred just couldn't be better. "Rockin' Chair" gets a passionate treatment from Mildred who never lets go of a single superfluous note as she delivers this faultlessly; and "Ev'rything Depends on You" is splendid in Mildred's capable hands.

"Lover, Come Back to Me" is very easy on the ear while "All Too Soon" has Mildred squarely in the spotlight which is quite all right by me! "All Too Soon" makes good use of the piano, too. "More Than You Know" is heavenly; and the album closes with Mildred Bailey singing "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "Blue Prelude." Terrific!

Mildred Bailey shared so much of her unique talent with us during her career and lifetime; and this album more than amply proves she had a very special gift. Yes, there are a few embarrassingly dated lyrics; but to delete some of the songs here would be to deny that this type of prejudice ever existed; and in addition Mildred was anything but prejudiced against African-Americans. This is even a fine CD for people just discovering Mildred's incredible talent; if you like early jazz you won't be disappointed.

During the 1930s, Mildred Bailey ranked as one of the greatest jazz vocalists, alongside Billie Holiday. Even in her heyday, however, she never seemed to get any of the recognition that she truly deserved. Today, she remains virtually forgotten (along with her equally-talented 1930s contemporary, the great Lee Wiley). No books, TV shows, or movies ever made of Ms. Bailey. No jazz compilations ever seem to include any of her work. Fortunately, much of her work has been reissued onto CDs and is also available on iTunes. This wonderful collection consists of 20 tracks which spans her entire career, from her early recordings in 1931 to her final recording session in 1950 (she passed away the following year). Bailey had a light, airy, yet very expressive voice that was adept at both swinging and singing torchy ballads. Much like Holiday, Bailey was also known for her renditions of the Great American Songbook, helping to make many of these songs standards ("More Than You Know," "All Too Soon," "Lover Come Back to Me" etc.). Bailey was a major innovator in jazz and served as a major influence on subsequent jazz and pop artists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, and Rosemary Clooney. This is a very good overview of Bailey's career, and a must for any jazz fan.

One of the only domesticly available Bailey CD's, showcases her style through the yaers from the late 20's to the ealry 50's. All of her recordings are well worth hearing and owning.

This is an excellent CD of great music. Sure, her voice is squeaky, but the she knows how to sing, and the music is great! Got it at Amazon.