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Compiled for your listening pleasure…

  
The moment has come and you are planning a dinner party or a romantic evening for your special someone. Of course, you are serving something a bit more classy than pigs-in-a-blanket and grape Nehi…LOL!!! Oh, but what about the music? What can you play that will set the right atmosphere without putting your guests to sleep (at least not too early!) I have heard music at parties that is often more memorable than the guests. Here are a couple of wonderful compilations that are certain to set the perfect ambiance for your special evening.
Lady Sings The Blues
Capitol Records has put together a spectacular 2-CD collection of 28 smoldering torch songs classics featuring several contemporary jazz singers and legendary chanteuses. The joy of a compilation is that it gives the listener a musical taste of a variety of voices and if you really like an artist(s), you can go and explore their respective body of work.
Disc One
1. Sarah Vaughan: Key Largo
2. Ella Fitzgerald: Solitude
3. Dianne Reeves: Embraceable You
4. Etta James: Don’t Go to Strangers
5. Della Reese: Call Me
6. Diana Krall: I’m Just a Lucky So and So
7. Dinah Washington: Call Me Irresponsible
8. June Christy: Something Cool
9. Keely Smith: You Go to My Head
10. Nancy Wilson: The Very Thought of You
11. Dinah Shore: My Funny Valentine
12. Kay Starr: It Had to Be You
13. Rosemary Clooney: One for My Baby
14. Peggy Lee: I’ll Be Seeing You
Disc Two
1. Peggy Lee: Here’s That Rainy Day
2. Sarah Vaughan: Stormy Weather
3. Dianne Reeves: In a Sentimental Mood
4. Diana Krall: They Can’t Take That Away from Me
5. Etta James: Body and Soul
6. Cassandra Wilson: Someday My Prince Will Come
7. Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones: More Than This
8. Patricia Barber: The Thrill Is Gone
9. Nancy Wilson: You’ve Changed
10. Julie London: Cry Me a River
11. June Christy: Don’t Explain
12. Rosemary Clooney: Lover Man
13. Keely Smith: I Wish You Love
14. Lena Horne: We’ll Be Together Again
The Ultimate Diva Collection: The Diva Series
Verve Records has long been known for cooking up great compilations and this one continues their find tradition of blending the just right musical ingredients to bring you something extra special. This collection of 16 gems is just the icing on the cake. It is a part of Verve’s Diva series, dedicated to the greatest female jazz vocalists and their greatest songs.
Artists in the series include Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Astrud Gilberto, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington.
Tracks
1. How High the Moon – Ella Fitzgerald
2. Lullaby of Birdland – Sarah Vaughan
3. Teach Me Tonight – Dinah Washington
4. Body and Soul – Billie Holiday
5. You Took Advantage of Me – Carmen McRae
6. Peel Me a Grape – Anita O’Day
7. Someone to Watch Over Me – Blossom Dearie
8. Love Me or Leave Me – Nina Simone
9. Come Dance With Me – Shirley Horn
10. I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life – Gloria Lynne
11. Fly Me to the Moon – Astrud Gilberto
12. I Don’t Know Enough About You – Peggy Lee
13. A Sunday Kind of Love – Etta James
14. It’s Crazy – Natalie Cole
15. You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To – Helen Merrill
16. It Don’t Mean a Thing (if It Ain’t Got That Swing) – Ernestine Anderson

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2003 at 8:32 am. It is filed under Music Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.