Anita Sings the Most

Anita O'Day

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: January 31, 1957
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000470X
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,442 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In the mid-1950s, the Oscar Peterson trio (with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis) served as a house rhythm section for Norman Granz's Verve label and his Jazz at the Philharmonic tours. Stars in their own right, they were also superb accompanists, propelling Granz's swing-era giants to some of their best performances of the era. This 1957 date is a superbly swinging session that may be Anita O'Day's finest hour in the recording studio. Although she first found fame as a singer with big bands like Gene Krupa's, O'Day's freewheeling style was most at home in a small group setting. Here she sings swing tunes at breakneck tempos and adds boppish scat with genuinely instrumental fluency. O'Day's wistful treatments of ballads are graced by luminous accompaniments, by Ellis on "I've Got the World on a String" and Peterson on "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." --Stuart Broomer

Product Description

Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anita with Oscar is truly magnificent..., March 1, 2000

By	Aaron (Aaron) - See all my reviews

All of Anita O'Day's verve's are worth picking up, including this one with Oscar Peterson's combo. Anita glides though a set of jazz standards, they swing smoothly together and as always Miss O'Day improvises and swings. It is always a joy to hear Miss O'Day's scatting and her highly appealing phrasing, with the added pleasure of Oscar Peterson on the keys. This CD reissue of the original lp is highly recommeded as are all of her Verve re-issues. Lastly go and see her live next time you're in California, she often plays the Club Atlas in LA.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Put, She's The Best., August 20, 2003

By	Gloria Carpenter (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a jazz fan, but not a fan of jazz vocals, I can not recommend this album more highly. Anita is IT! In my opinion she blows away anyone who ever tried to sing a jazz standard. Hipper than Ella, more lyrical than Sarah, Anita had an emotional depth that only Billy could rival. But Billy isn't even in the same hemisphere when it comes to technique. And unlike many of the so-called jazz vocalists, Anita never resorted to gimmicky licks or tricks. But when she scats...look out! This is the real deal -- not the scoobally-doo-bop nonsense too often passed off as "improvisation". Every note rings true with a tone sent from the gods. The gal could SWING! This album is a must for an serious jazz fan and any fan of great singing. Buy it -- or lose out on hearing one of the great artists of the 20th century.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Match, September 11, 2002

By	Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

One of my first experiences hearing jazz live was catching Anita O'Day at a small club in Seattle. As little as I understood about the music at the time, it was abundantly clear that she was unhappy with her pianist and that he would have preferred being anywhere but in the company of this snarling prima donna who was holding him up to public humiliation. Years later I heard a musician tell the story about Anita calling "Tea for Two" in one of her typically torrid up-tempos and in the key of A. After the pianist had played the song through, setting up the vocal, Anita suddenly turned to him and said, "Modulate to A flat" (the standard key of the tune).

So why not pair one of the world's most fastidious and demanding singers with the world's greatest living pianist? The concept behind this album was a winner from the start, and its realization is in no way disappointing. Oscar is at his swinging best, and Anita has her choice of tempos, keys, and unique spins on familiar standards. She's at once hot, cool, sexy, cold--as only Anita can be--but she's always the ace musician, in complete, domineering control in her uniquely laid-back, slightly "hung-over" style of elocution.

Not quite as satisfying as Anita's "Pick Yourself Up," this album is nonetheless another of the many rewarding sessions coupling Verve's "house" rhythm section with a jazz star. The greatest delights? The medium-tempo version of "We'll Be Together Again" and the overplayed but not oversung "Stella by Starlight." The biggest disappointment? On the "Rodgers and Hart Songbook" Ella sings the complete and uncensored lyrics to "Bewitched," whereas on this recording Anita sings the straight, cleaned-up, traditional version. Somebody must have switched the envelopes.