Little Girl Blue
Artist: Nina Simone
Community Score: 8.60

Little Girl Blue, released in 1957, was Nina Simone's first recording, originally issued on the Bethlehem label. Backed by bassist Jimmy Bond and Albert "Tootie" Heath, it showcases her ballad voice as one of mystery and sensuality and showcases her up-tempo jazz style with authority and an enigmatic down-home feel that is nonetheless elegant.... Read More

The Story Hour
Artist: Sally Mayes

Featuring selections from Sally Mayes' one-woman show of the same title, The Story Hour is a set of musical narratives offering snapshots of everyday life and all the trials, tribulations, joys, and love it can bring. Sometimes, the songs' stories can get a little sentimental or melodramatic, but then again, the popular imagination rarely... Read More

The Amazing Nina Simone/Nina Simone at Town Hall
Artist: Nina Simone

A good and sensible single-disc reissue of two early Simone albums, both recorded in the late '50s and both among her more jazz-oriented outings. The Amazing Nina Simone, a 1959 studio LP, is rather on the pop and standards side of things, with cuts like "It Might as Well Be Spring," "Willow Weep for Me," and "Stompin' at the Savoy," but that's... Read More

Great American Songbook - JAPAN
Artist: Carmen McRae

On this popular two-LP set, singer Carmen McRae interprets songs by Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Michel Legrand, Warren & Dubin, Henry Mancini and Jimmy Van Heusen, among others, but it is her rendition of a humorous Jimmy Rowles novelty ("The Ballad of Thelonious Monk") that is best remembered. Joined by pianist Rowles, guitarist Joe Pass,... Read More

Reemergence
Artist: Eddie Henderson

In the '90s, veteran Eddie Henderson re-emerged as one of the top trumpeters in jazz, playing at the peak of his powers. This fine outing is no exception, matching the 58-year old Henderson with vibraphonist Joe Locke, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Ed Howard and drummer Billy Drummond. The trumpeter performs two originals (including "Dreams,"... Read More

Make This City Ours
Artist: Claire Martin

In 1996, Claire Martin was in same position as fellow British jazz singer Ian Shaw. Martin, then 29, had become England's top young female jazz vocalist (just as Shaw was its top young male jazz vocalist), but in American jazz circles, she was far from well-known. After recording all of her previous albums in England and using mostly British... Read More

The Ultimate Sarah Vaughan
Artist: Sarah Vaughan

Dee Dee Bridgewater compiled The Ultimate Sarah Vaughan, a 16-track selection of her best-known songs that offers an excellent introduction to her Verve recordings. Although purists and collectors will have little use for this set, it suits the purposes of neophytes and curious listeners quite well. Among the highlights are "The Sweetest... Read More

Anthology: The Colpix Years
Artist: Nina Simone

Simone recorded prolifically during her affiliation with Colpix in the late '50s and early '60s. This 40-song, two-CD set presents choice extracts from approximately ten albums worth of material. It isn't quite as impressive as what she recorded for Philips in the mid-'60s, sticking to a more pop- and light jazz-based approach, and not mining... Read More

Love Walked In
Artist: Diane Schuur

This set of ten concise standards (which totals in at around 36 minutes) finds Diane Schuur singing in prime form. The interpretations are straightforward, without much improvising, although Schuur is quite soulful, showing the influence of late-period Dinah Washington (whose hit "Blue Gardenia" she revives). The excess of Schuur's early years... Read More

Live at Ronnie Scott's - DRG
Artist: Nina Simone

This CD gives listeners a typical Nina Simone live performance from the mid-1980s. But what is typical for the singer/pianist/social commentator would be extraordinary for most other performers. Before an adoring audience, Simone (who is accompanied by drummer Paul Robinson) performs such numbers as "Be My Husband," "I Loves You Porgy," "The... Read More

Ethel Ennis
Artist: Ethel Ennis
Snowbound/The Lonely Hours
Artist: Sarah Vaughan

Part of a refreshing series of two-fers from major vocalists of the '60s, British EMI issued this compilation pairing Sarah Vaughan's 1963 LP, Snowbound, with 1964's The Lonely Hours. As could be expected, the two work well together, both being sets of nocturnally oriented standards. The former is a cozy collection of romantic ballads arranged... Read More