Here's One I Missed...

[JSngry]

Ok, I'm driving my daughter to a friend's house yesterday, a friend who lives at the other end of Dallas. I pass a Virgin Megastore on the way and think to myself that I "need" to stop in on the way home and check out what's in the clearance bin, since I've had good luck there before.

So I do. NOTHING in the clearance bins, so I go look for that Mat Manieri thing that was AOW a few weeks ago. No luck there either. I fact, the jazz selection SUCKED. "Screw this place", I scream at the top of my lungs (internally of course).

But the end of the jazz "section" merges with the beginning of the Vocal section, and THIS little jewel box catches my eye:

"Well, here's one I don't have", I mumbled (out loud this time). Checked it out - trio, 1987, no "production", no "guests", just Shirley, her trio, and some songs. 14 bucks. On the Audiophile label.

Sold.

This is a DAMN fine album. If you've kinda gotten jaded with Shirley's Verve albums (and although I love 'em, and still buy 'em, I don't buy them ASAP like I used to, so I guess I qualify as jaded), THIS one is a reminder of what hooked you (me, anyway), in the first place. Ballads - s.............................l........................o..............................................w ballads, and minimalist, often ethereal piano backing, with JUST enouh input from bass and drums to keep time from standing TOTALLY still. Imagine Ran Blake and Jeanne Lee rolled into one person and brought just a little bit more "inside", and that's pretty much what you got here. How cool is that? Very, if you ask me.

The lady's a master and a treasure. This is an album of her's that I've overlooked for no good reason. My bad. If you dig Shirley Horn, you'll want this. If you don't, you won't. If you've never heard her, but are curious, this might not be the BEST starting point (I'll give the nod for that to YOU WON'T FORGET ME, HERE'S TO LIFE, & her outstanding Steeplechase recordings), but this one should come shortly thereafter.

Highly recommended, and in my case, highly overlooked.

Edited September 8, 2003 by JSngry

[Jim R]

I've admired her for a number of years for a variety of reasons, but have never quite gotten off the fence. I enjoy her voice, her piano playing, love her choice of material... but I find myself gettng anxious when I listen to her. I WANT to get used to that s........................l..........................o.............................wwwwwwwwwwwwwww delivery, but so far I've been unable to do so. It might happen if I keep trying, though. And I probably should. She has SO much going for her.

My curisosity about this disc (which I never knew existed) caused me to look up the particulars, so as long as I'm at it, here they are:

Date: October 1987

Location: Mapleshade Studio, Glenn Dale, MD

Label: Audiophile

ldr - Shirley Horn; p - Shirley Horn; eb - Charles Ables; d - Steve Williams; v - Shirley Horn

a. 01 Since I Fell For You - 07:13  (Buddy Johnson)

b. 02 You're My Thrill - 04:20  (Sidney Clare, Jay Gorney)

c. 03 How Long Has This Been Going On - 07:05  (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

d. 04 My, How The Time Goes By - 05:12  (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh)

e. 05 Estaté (Summer) [original or English lyric ver. 1] - 08:38  (Bruno Brighetti, Bruno Martino, Joel Siegel)

f. 06 Forget Me - 03:37  (Valerie Parks Brown)

g. 07 I Watch You Sleep - 06:35  (Richard Rodney Bennett, Joel Siegel)

h. 08 Softly, As I Leave You - 03:00  (Hal Shaper, Antonio DeVita, Giorgio Calabrese)

i. 09 Dindi - 06:10  (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ray Gilbert, Aloysio Oliveira)

All titles on: -     Audiophile CD: ACD-224 - Softly (1988)

[JSngry]

I WANT to get used to that s........................l..........................o.............................wwwwwwwwwwwwwww delivery....

Rumor has it that she & Jimmy Scott did a one chorus reading of "Begin The Beguine" that's yet to be released. It's a 5-CD set.

[Jim R]

I wonder how they squeezed it onto 5...

[JSngry]

MICROGROOVE TECHNOLOGY!!!!