Esther Phillips?

[Dan Gould]

Spotted a live Atlantic recording with Joe Newman and King Curtis among others. But I've never heard the lady sing so I hesitated. Then I noticed in AMG a reference to a "nasal" quality in her voice which makes me think I did right but I'm interested to hear other's opinions. Anyone?

Thanks!

[Harold_Z]

She was heavily influenced by Dinah Washington and sounded somewhat like her, but yes, more nasally and with a quicker vibrato. For my taste she's absolutley fine. She's distinctive once you know her sound. A lot of her 60s and early 70s recordings have very good R&B session guys - like Curtis, Cornell Dupree, Chuck Rainey, Gordon Edwards, etc...and for me that's a big plus also.

Her earlier recordings with Johnnie Otis are tasty west coast early R&B.

[JSngry]

Esther Phillips is TOUGH!

Tastes in vocalists seem to be highly subjective, and Esther's voice might invoke extra-subjective responses simply because it's so distinctive. I'd not call her "nasal" as much as I would "gritty". She's no-nonsense, no matter the material, and she's in no way "fluffy", no matter the backing. There's no pretenxe (or illusion) of "prettiness" in anywhing she did, even the later, highly produced, Kudu/Mercury stuff. In the tracks, yes, but in her vocals, there was not even a trace, She's about as "real" as you can get. I dig her very much, but not everybody does.

The live Atlantic stuff is pretty damn fine, imo. Knowing your tastes, Dan, if you're going to get into her at all, this would be the place to begin.

[Dan Gould]

Thanks guys!

[Cali]

Esther Phillips is TOUGH!

She's no-nonsense, no matter the material, and she's in no way "fluffy", no matter the backing.  There's no pretenxe (or illusion) of "prettiness" in anywhing she did, even the later, highly produced, Kudu/Mercury stuff.

"A junkie walking through the twilight. I'm on my way home. I left three days ago but no one seems to know I'm gone. Home is where the hatred is. Home is filled with pain. It might not be such a bad idea if I never, never went home again."

[Noj]

Performance (pictured) and Black-Eyed Blues are my favorite Esther Phillips albums I have heard.

[mailman]

The recording you saw was probably 'Live and Burnin' at Freddie Jetts'. This is terrific record. Granted, I love Esther, back to the records with Johnny Otis. Atlantic tried everything they knew to make Ms. Phillips a star but it just didn't happen. Grab this one. It's excellent.

[RZangpo2]

I agree with all the above comments. One of my favorite albums of all time is Esther's Confessin' The Blues on Atlantic. I started a thread about it on another forum -- here's the link: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthre...esther+phillips. The live album mentioned above must come from the same show or shows as Side B of Confessin'; I'll have to check that one out myself!

[sidewinder]

I remember seeing her do 'What A Difference A Day Makes' on a TOTP show on the Beeb back in the mid 70s. Just about blew away the bland disco crap that occupied the rest of the programme.

[DMP]

Her performance on the Johnny Otiis show Monterey Jazz Festival set is teriffic! A stand-out in a high-powered lineup. (It's a two album set on one CD, at a bargain price, on Sony - think it's often overlooked.)

[Bright Moments]

c'mon guys - esther is smokin'!

some fav's of mine:

all about E.P.

for all we know

Capricorn Princess (with ronnie cuber, jon faddis & randy brecker)

Black eyed blues

Good Black Don't Crack

[John L]

Esther Phillips is TOUGH!

Tastes in vocalists seem to be highly subjective, and Esther's voice might invoke extra-subjective responses simply because it's so distinctive. I'd not call her "nasal" as much as I would "gritty". She's no-nonsense, no matter the material, and she's in no way "fluffy", no matter the backing. There's no pretenxe (or illusion) of "prettiness" in anywhing she did, even the later, highly produced, Kudu/Mercury stuff. In the tracks, yes, but in her vocals, there was not even a trace, She's about as "real" as you can get. I dig her very much, but not everybody does.

The live Atlantic stuff is pretty damn fine, imo. Knowing your tastes, Dan, if you're going to get into her at all, this would be the place to begin.

Yes, yes, and yes. And she had a feel for the blues than runs deep. Esther could really get inside of the blues and own them. I ignored her for many years after being initially put off by the nasal sound. Then, one day I really HEARD her. After that, I tracked down almost everything that she released.

Edited August 27, 2010 by John L

[paul secor]

Fine singer. One of my favorites of hers is "Aged and Mellow Blues", recorded when she was Little Esther, backed by the Johnny Otis band with a short but classic solo by Ben Webster.

The story was that she added the Phillips with the inspiration of a Phillips 66 sign.

edit - A favorite from her later years is "Set Me Free" on Atlantic.

Edited August 27, 2010 by paul secor

[BruceH]

"Mojo Hannah"---give that song a listen.

[jostber]

This is a great album from 1971 on Kudu Records:

From A Whisper To A Scream

Arrangements by Pee Wee Ellis.

[CJ Shearn]

I always have loved her version of "God Bless the Child" on CTI Summer Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl.

[kinuta]

'Burning - Confessing The Blues ' is great, I recommend it to you.

[Hot Ptah]

The way she delivers her part in Johnny Otis' "Cupid's Boogie" is just wonderful, to me. She puts the man down in a subtle, humorous way--"ARE YOU KIDDING? I'm the captain of this ship and you're just a member of the crew." The way that she sang those words is everything to the song. Just fantastic.

That is one of my favorite recorded moments, by any artist, in any musical genre.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

The way she delivers her part in Johnny Otis' "Cupid's Boogie" is just wonderful, to me. She puts the man down in a subtle, humorous way--"ARE YOU KIDDING? I'm the captain of this ship and you're just a member of the crew." The way that she sang those words is everything to the song. Just fantastic.

That is one of my favorite recorded moments, by any artist, in any musical genre.

And thirteen years old, at the time (or was it fourteen?)

Well.

MG

[GA Russell]

She had a hit record (AM radio) when I was in high school ca. '66. As I recall, it was the Beatles' And I Love Him.