felser Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 (edited) Listening to this CD right now for the first time, and pretty blown away by it, and by Alexandria in general (I've heard little of her). What an amazing singer. Why isn't she mentioned with the giants? She's that good to my ears, up there with anyone who ever stepped to the mike. This is a late 50's live date, with the King Fleming sextet, who have some pretty interesting personnel. Charles Stepney, the great 60's-70's Chess arranger, plays vibes. Vernal Fournier, of Ahmad Jamal fame, plays drums. Earl May on bass, Fleming on piano, Cy Touff on bass trumpet, and Paul Serrano on trumpet. Anyone else dig Alexandria as much as me? Or are my ears overestimating her? Also, any other recommendations on her King and Argo albums? Edited October 3, 2007 by felser Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 check out 'the great alexandria.' Quote
Dan Gould Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 Count me as a fan. The one Argo that must be heard is Early In The Morning which features a front line of Basie players (Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Al Grey, Joe Newman). Great album and well worth the search. Quote
felser Posted October 3, 2007 Author Report Posted October 3, 2007 That's Cy Touff. Corrected, thanks. Larry, what are your thoughts on Alexandria? Quote
JSngry Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 I've got the 80s King CD, which lists no personnel. To find out who is playing on it is pretty darn interesting! I like Alexandria, but have never really "gotten into" her that much. No real reason, she just doesn't grab me the way that lots of other singers do. I hear a certain lack of distinctiveness (if that's something you can hear...), but then again, maybe that is her distinctiveness. Anyway, it's my problem, not hers. I do like the side she did w/Ramsey Lewis, the one Dan mentions, more than the others. Quote
ghost of miles Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 check out 'the great alexandria.' Yes, on Impulse--should still be available in the Verve LPR series. If you ever see the Impulse sequel MORE OF... floating around used at a halfway decent price, that's worth snagging as well. (I think it's been out only as an import on CD.) The date Dan mentions is a sweet one too. This Night Lights show from a couple years back covers her 1950s and 60s recordings. Quote
JSngry Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 check out 'the great alexandria.' Yes, on Impulse--should still be available in the Verve LPR series. If you ever see the Impulse sequel MORE OF... floating around used at a halfway decent price, that's worth snagging as well. (I think it's been out only as an import on CD.) Both were reissued together on a single late-80s MCA/Impulse! CD, which is how I have them. Quote
Larry Kart Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 That's Cy Touff. Corrected, thanks. Larry, what are your thoughts on Alexandria? Haven't heard her work in decades and truthfully don't recall it at all. Quote
mikeweil Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 check out 'the great alexandria.' Yes, on Impulse--should still be available in the Verve LPR series. If you ever see the Impulse sequel MORE OF... floating around used at a halfway decent price, that's worth snagging as well. (I think it's been out only as an import on CD.) Both were reissued together on a single late-80s MCA/Impulse! CD, which is how I have them. This is still available! The Pres album was the first encounter with her for me, too, and I was impressed. I agree she should be in the top 50 all time great female jazz singers - maybe even higher. Quote
Bright Moments Posted January 23, 2008 Report Posted January 23, 2008 Listening to this CD right now for the first time, and pretty blown away by it, and by Alexandria in general (I've heard little of her). What an amazing singer. Why isn't she mentioned with the giants? She's that good to my ears, up there with anyone who ever stepped to the mike. This is a late 50's live date, with the King Fleming sextet, who have some pretty interesting personnel. Charles Stepney, the great 60's-70's Chess arranger, plays vibes. Vernal Fournier, of Ahmad Jamal fame, plays drums. Earl May on bass, Fleming on piano, Cy Touff on bass trumpet, and Paul Serrano on trumpet. Anyone else dig Alexandria as much as me? Or are my ears overestimating her? Also, any other recommendations on her King and Argo albums? this is a teriffic cd! what else has stepney done on vibes? anything as leader? Quote
Late Posted February 4, 2023 Report Posted February 4, 2023 On 10/2/2007 at 5:32 PM, felser said: What an amazing singer. Why isn't she mentioned with the giants? She's that good to my ears, up there with anyone who ever stepped to the mike. ... Anyone else dig Alexandria as much as me? Or are my ears overestimating her? I had these very questions this morning while listening to Lorez Alexandria The Great on Impulse! Her pitch is flawless. A fair amount of Sarah, a dash of Carmen, a pinch of Dinah, and likely others in the mix that I can't hear. I wonder who got her on Impulse. On 10/2/2007 at 6:43 PM, JSngry said: I've got the 80s King CD, which lists no personnel. To find out who is playing on it is pretty darn interesting! Just found this quote online regarding Alexandria's second and third recordings for King: “In 1959, she recorded two more albums for King, but the label, instead of hiring an arranger and musicians for the sessions, used pre-recorded instrumental backgrounds for Lorez to overdub her voice. She did a wonderful job interacting with them, in some of the finest work by this much forgotten jazz legend. It is no wonder that throughout her career, some eminent jazz critics compared her with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan or Carmen McRae.” Quote
mikeweil Posted February 6, 2023 Report Posted February 6, 2023 (edited) Just checked her discography - except for some early sides with King Fleming. all her recordings are under her name. She is really great - excellent intonation, a very personal approach, and original ideas on the arrangements. Again, Fresh Sound did a good job at re-issuing her early sides: https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/lorez-alexandria-albums/46957-on-king-1957-1959-plus-her-1954-1956-blue-lake-chess-recordings-2-cd.html Most of her albums are oop, although several were reissued on CD. Another interesting looking disc is this one on Jasmine, compiling her Argo Lps, but it duplicates two that are on the Fresh Sound issue: https://jasmine-records.co.uk/gb/easy-listening/2832-lorez-alexandria-what-is-this-thing-called-love-4lps-on-2cds-1959-1961.html Edited February 6, 2023 by mikeweil Quote
Bluesnik Posted February 8, 2023 Report Posted February 8, 2023 The other day i rewatched the movie The Joker and was flabbergasted when I discovered Send in the clowns in the soundtrack. It sure matches the clown theme of the movie. Maybe I missed it the first time around or didn't pay enough attention. But I wonder if it was the Lorez Alexandria version. Which is the main version I know, though I'm sure the song has been covered multiple times. Quote
JSngry Posted February 8, 2023 Report Posted February 8, 2023 1 hour ago, Bluesnik said: But I wonder if it was the Lorez Alexandria version. Which is the main version I know, though I'm sure the song has been covered multiple times. The "pop hit" version was by Judy Collins. Quote
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