Obscure & Neglected Female Singers Of Jazz & Standards (1930s to 1960s)

New Releases From Spain With New Remastering

To learn about new Keely Smith new releases please visit thread (Posts #22-28):
Keely Smith: New CDs (Reprise/Real Gone Music)

 

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Great news! On April 13, Pat Suzuki's entire early output (1958-1967) will be coming out on compact disc. We are talking about not only her four albums but also all the singles from those years, wrapped in three CDs.

These CDs are being released with Pat's involvement and cooperation. For those of you interested, the releasing label is offering a deal (at its website), if you get all three CDs. The CD of rarities is a limited edition: only 500 copies made.

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Great thread, thanks!

 

Thank you for the info, Ridin'High.
I have to add that the label is London-based Stage Door Records, which specializes in the stage performance reissues.
And it seems to me that they took the same shortcut move as LP Time Records in their last years, using the so-called "digital vinyl" CD-R, packed in Mini LP sleeves for the Collector's Series. (Not sure, however, if these covers have the same quality as LP Time).

"In the autumn of 1957, Pat Suzuki signed a recording contract with the RCA subsidiary label VIK Records. During her tenure with RCA, Suzuki released four best selling studio albums (including the Grammy nominated "Broadway '59") and a handful of singles. This collection compiles all Pat Suzuki's non-album singles recorded for both VIK / RCA between 1958 - 1960 and her sole release for Capitol Records in 1961. The collection concludes with two pop singles Pat recorded for the PDA label in 1967 alongside a handful of tracks recorded for "Pat!", a mid Sixties solo album that sadly was never completed. Tracks include "Pat Suzuki's Football Four", four highly collectable singles issued in September 1958 featuring Suzuki's interpretations of various college football anthems. Also featured is Suzuki's single version of "Love Eyes" (from the musical 'Whoop-Up!'), recorded during the "Broadway '59" sessions but omitted from the final album. Moving from RCA to Capitol in 1961, Suzuki issued one single for the label featuring tracks from the then current Broadway shows 'Sail Away' and 'The Gay Life'. In the mid Sixties, Suzuki collaborated with Warren B. Meyers on a proposed new album of show songs and standards. Five tracks were recorded for the album project (titled 'Pat!') and a handful of acetate test pressings were manufactured. The five tracks recorded include a rousing rendition of Stephen Sondheim's 'Everybody Says Don't' (from 'Anyone Can Whistle'), a striking interpretation of Frank Loesser's 'Never Will I Marry' (from 'Greenwillow') and a showstopping version of 'When The Sun Comes Out'. Sadly the album project was never completed, however we're pleased to present all the tracks Pat recorded for PDA on this collection of 'Singles and Rarities'. The release of 'Singles And Rarities' is a collaboration between Pat Suzuki and Stage Door Records to reissue Suzuki's complete discography as a solo recording artist. Also available is 'The Complete Album Series', a 2CD set featuring the four solo albums Pat Suzuki recorded for RCA Records between 1958-1960. 'Singles And Rarities' forms part of Stage Door's COLLECTOR'S SERIES, a line of limited edition CD products presented in the retro style of a miniature long-playing record. All Collector's Series titles are limited to 500 units."

Here is a couple of samples how they look:




Pat had an amazing voice and regardless of anything they may worth to buy...



Pat Suzuki - I've Grown Accustomed To His Face

 

So they are probably CDR?

 

Pat Suzuki 4 albums double CD is the first title in the new series "Complete Album Series", and it is not yet clear how they will process the discs. (It's even unclear, whether they will move on with this series). I'm thinking of buying it, so I'll tell.
Sound samplers:
Disc 1
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/howhighthemoon.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/blackcoffee.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/lazyafternoon.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/fromthismomenton.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/thesongisyou.mp3
Disc 2
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/myfunnyvalentine.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/notlikeme.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/smallworld.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/twofacesinthedark.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/justforonce.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/ienjoybeingagirl.mp3

But 'Singles and Rarities' is, as they said, "part of Collector's Series" and definitely will be CD-R.
They also provided 6 sound samplers, which sound great:
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/loveeyes.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/whenyouwantme.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/whygoanywhereatall.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/makemeinvisible.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/everybodysaysdont.mp3
http://www.stagedoorrecords.com/neverwillimarry.mp3

This CD-R is professionally done with new remaster (from the master tape due to the agreement, I think) in Mini LP format, and $15 for it not too much. Because just a digital transfer (back up CD) from rare LP professionally done in very limited quantity (practically custom made) in jewel case with cheap inserts and printed CD surface costs $16.

If LP is very rare and costs a lot, maybe it makes sense to buy a nicely made digital version in CD-R for $16. Or, if it is good 78s and 45s Collection, which probably will never be released on CD, it also makes sense to buy.

If Stage Gate will go beyond stage performances for their Collector's Series with a nice content, I will buy them anyway, as I did LP Time CDs.

 

This CD was not their final, but would be a good sample of LP Time CD-R:

 

This is so good her first 1958 album... If Dolores Grey album was fairly named 'Warm Brandy', this one is even warmer:



I Only Have Eyes for You

I Don't Know Why

It's Been a Long, Long Time

Another her LP "Sings Hits of Roaring 20's" (1964) was released in 1962 under the different mane.



Material is not so strong... I like only two songs:

Toni Carroll-It Had To Be You

Toni Carroll-My Melancholy Baby

But it's me, some people think otherwise:

Review
"This CD's a darn smasher! I just love it. It features a number of songs from the Roaring Twenties; my favorites are "I'm Just Wild About Harry!", and "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue". Toni Carroll does a stellar job in bringing these songs to life. She infuses a lot of life into Eddie Cantor's "Makin' Whoopee" from 1928, it's full of spunk and laughter. Toni has got a very theatrical voice. This CD is really fun to listen to and the songs are just cute! It's also ideal for accompaniment while you do the Charleston. Not all of the songs in this collection are from the 1920's, there are a few from the '30s and '40s. I'm not really a big fan of the slower songs such as "Toni", but I sure do adore the rest. I never get tired listening to it." (Aug. 19, 2000)

Audiophile Record released both her albums on one CD in 1996:



Usually, they do good job on a sound, but this time... maybe not.

Review:
"Great CD, Bad Quality
I really like this CD. If you're looking for something fun & bouncy, this is it. The sound quality is something else. This CD was mastered off of vinyl LP's complete with all the pops & crackles. I'd love to see a modern release of this CD from a decent source." (March 1, 2008)

Very rare Toni's non-commercial recording:
TONI CARROLL - MOTHER

 

It was a terrific mistake for LP Time to issue that item on CDR. After they spent all that money and time creating the graphic cover (very deluxe), they decided to save pennies on issuing CDRs inside rather than real CDs. As a result they lost their entire customer base and quickly went out of business. They could not undertsand that their customers wanted real CDs. Smart.

 

If Stage Door uses quality CDR's like LP Time did, there will be no problems of playability or longevity. I purchased both Pat Suzuki releases and am anxiously awaiting the release. I have the Toni from LP Time...nice!

 

I'd like to get a couple of the last few releases mentioned but......I will not pay $16.00 for a CD-R. Don't care what it is but they will not do much business with CD-Rs.

Some really great music has been covered in this ongoing thread. I've heard of most of the singers discussed but am new to the actual music. Enjoying some new things and rediscovering past treasures. Thanks to all for the info and links!!

 

I ordered what I thought was the 2011 CD pictured above from a third party seller on Amazon, but what I received was an earlier CD from 2000, made by NORMA, Japan and which, it turns out, could very well be the source for the 2011 CD. I was curious about the 2011 CD so I ordered that one too. I thought it might be a copy of the first CD because on both, track 9 is mistitled "A Trout To Doubt"; it should be "A Trout No Doubt" (It's sort of a novelty song).

Also, the front cover of the 2011 CD is a little smaller and it's darker-and the song titles aren't as sharp as they are on the earlier CD. In the upper right is the Inter Play records logo (Interplay Music is listed in the credits of some of the songs on the CD). The overall length of the 2011 CD is 7 seconds longer, but that's just extra silence between songs. I extracted the audio from both CDs using EAC, and the peak levels for each song are identical for both CDs

The songs are in the same order on both CDs: The self-titled album followed by most of the songs from the "I Meet The Nicest People" LP- the 3 songs with the Russ David Orchestra (but in a different order), then the live songs at the end of the disc, and which were side 1 of the LP. The live songs were recorded at the Merry-Go-Round; Chase Park Plaza Hotel; St, Louis, MO. Three studio recordings from the album were omitted because they were also on the self titled album. I have no idea why 3 songs would be repeated, assuming they're the same versions.

Here are photos of the 2000 CD:

 

Both CDs have a 1964 recording date, which may be when the 3 songs with Russ David, and the live songs, were recorded.

According to popsike.com, the "I Meet The Nicest People" LP was released in 1958:
popsike.com - CEIL CLAYTON I Meet The Nicest People NORMAN Records NL 107 SIGNED Female Vocal - auction details

And the self-titled album was released in 1962:
popsike.com - Ceil Clayton LP (1962) - auction details ,
That can't be right though, since the self-titled album is referred to as her debut album on the back cover. Also, the song "People" was written and recorded in 1963, and released in January 1964:
People (Barbra Streisand song) - Wikipedia

Discogs has a 1960 release date for the self-titled album, and no date for "I Meet The Nicest People".

Here's the "I Meet The Nicest People" LP:




Here's the back of the self-titled album:

 

I wonder if it's possible Ceil wasn't involved in the release of the "I Meet The Nicest People" LP, otherwise you'd think she could've recorded a few more songs for the album. Maybe the 3 songs were repeated because they didn't have any other recordings to use.

 

I think it is very possible.
Does the 2011 release sound better? You can return the 2000 if it was announced as 2011.

 

I think they sound the same--which of course they would if the 2011 was copied from the 2000. I did consider returning the 2000 CD since that's not what I had ordered, but then I decided to keep it-- so now I have both: the original CD and the "reissue". I'd like to see a translation of the insert that came with the 2000 CD. (Also, spectrograms of various tracks are identical for both discs.)

 

It is very common to get OK to print more copies, if deal was made before. Maybe it was old license number and they put it now on the back cover?

 

I picked up Patrice Munsel's Unpredictable (Philips PHM 200-020) this evening for 10 cents. Released in 1962 she's singing with the Phil Moore Orchestra. Only bassist Milt Hinton is otherwise mentioned. Munsel is more likely known for her career as a coloratura soprano for the New York Metropolitan Opera. She ended her career there in 1958 at age 33. About 1955 she started appearing in Las Vegas and had a year long variety show on CBS during the 1957-1958 season called The Patrice Munsel Show. She also appeared in at least one film and other television shows. She then raised four children with her husband TV producer Robert Schuler. Besides this album she then mostly performed in musical theater and occasionally on television. She died in 2016 at age 91.

The liner notes by Phil Moore are quite interesting as he describes the process of working with her, learning her voice range and whether she could sing pop and jazz standards, and deciding what songs to record. I was wary about a coloratura singing these songs myself. Moore was surprised according to his liner notes. I was too. I've listened through side one twice now and just turned the record over. I really like this album. She can get showy and belt, but she can sing with subtlety too. Hinton is quoted as saying, "Man, this lady's got some soul!" Hype? I think he's right.

I've heard her sing some of The Merry Widow too. Wow, fantastic voice!

Has anyone else listened to this LP?



All titles below are linked to You Tube.

Side One:

Bewitched (Hart/Rodgers)
Last Night When We Were Young (Arlen/Yarburg)
Come On-A My House (Bagdasarian/Saroyan)
As You Desire Me (Wrubel)
Ill Wind (Arlen/Koehler)
Sometimes I'm Happy (Caesar/Youmans)

Side Two:

The Lonesome Road (Skilkret/Austin)
Baby, Baby All The Time (Troup)
Serenade in Blue (Warren/Gordon)
Ain't That Love (Ray Charles)
My Man's Gone Now (Heyward/Gershwin)

 

So far I've bought a few albums off of is thread:



I need to find a cleaner copy of this Toni Harper album, even after a good clean I'm getting a lot of crackle. Looks like the previous owner(s) kept this on the table a lot, probably a stacker. The vinyl is covered with plenty of micro-scratches and the inner grooves are scorched. Nonetheless, a very excellent album and criminally overlooked. I'll be buying her other album(s) and tracking down a better copy of this.




I love this Lee Wiley album - it's very Frank Sinatra-y even though Lee Wiley doesn't sound like ol' Blue Eyes, it's more of the attitude: New York, glamor, cocktail parties. etc. And it doesn't hurt that Frank covered a lot of the same material.




I also bought a 3LP set of Mildred Bailey. I'm a big, big Billie Holiday fan so I was expecting a lot from this collection. And ended up being a little disappointed. To my ears, Bailey's voice is very period: it and the musicians don't transcend time like Lady Day does; ie Bailey has a heavy vibrato vocal styling and seemingly less talented backing musicians. I'll have to revisit this to see if I can adjust my biases. I do like the song Rockin' Chair.




Wowza! What an exciting album! Like a female Chet Baker but with more effervescent sound - Miss Bryant can really belt out the vocals and plays a mean horn. It's too bad there aren't any more recordings of this talented lady.

 

I never heard of her. Now I learned that she was "youngest singer to ever appear on the Metropolitan Opera stage (at the age of 18)".
She had a great voice with so wide range and ability go very low. It is rare for soprano singer.
Style is really "unpredictable". I listened to all samplers and 'Longsome Road' is my favorite.
It feels like, if she would work on style more, she could reach the highest level (Monica Lewis comes to mind).
We need a very good SQ to fully appreciate all the nuances of her liquid-like voice.
There is no CD of this album, BTW.

It was hard to find a good sound on youtube for her live recording:
1958

 

If you are expecting Billie one will always be disappointed. Once you get past the production values and just sit back and chill with her for a few hours her art reveals layer by layer. For me it’s subtle nuance rather then full on passion ... the passion is there is just restrained...

 

There was a time that I would just flick through those oldie mouldie records that are on the bottom shelf of many a thrift or sallie army .
Now I pay way more attention and get all excited when I pull out a cover with an alluring female , you never know , it might be a Beverly Kenney cutout ! . A few months ago , while following the discipline I turned up a copy of the very rare soundtrack 'Murder Inc' featuring Sarah Vaughn , not a great piece of music but a great piece of album art to put on my wall.
Just listening to Pat Suzuki on Spotify [ she has two records on the site] big voiced soprano , more of show singer than a jazzer ,but would not kick her off my turntable!
Thank you and keep it coming on this wonderful thread .

 

Reading Phil Moore's back cover notes for Munsel's album, it sounds like she approached him about coaching her to sing in jazz and pop idioms. He didn't know what to expect, what she could do, and says he was not expecting an album to come out of it. I agree she doesn't have any clear style coming from her background. It seems Moore tried a little of everything on her to see what she could do. Can she hit the low notes, can she sing and feel jazz double time, can she sing blues with dramatic insight, can she inhabit the song, what about a "pyramiding shouter", can she understand and convey a down to earth song, can she sing ballads, can she sing a performance song with a mood change in it and a difficult arrangement, can she convey joy in a song? He says he threw everything at her during the recording sessions. He apparently just kept finding she could do it all.

Philips did release one single from the LP containing Come On-A My House and As You Desire Me. I honestly expected to dislike the first song, but it's become an ear worm and is stuck in my head. She'd have gotten me to come over to her house to hear her sing more.

I enjoy reading the fine print on these LPs. Phil Ramone was at the engineering controls and they detail things right down to the specific microphones used and Ampex tape recorders.

Aside from much opera, she has some lovely recordings of songs from some of the musicals she appeared in. I know I've seen some of them without knowing who she was expecting an operatic voice. Next time I see one it will be coming home with me.

Is there ever an end of these singers? I hope not.

 

Very nice indeed.

 

We haven't even touched on the countless extremely talented singers active over the last 10 to 20 years all over this planet. It is mind boggling how many there are. More singers have been recording recently than during the golden age when there were only a few (by comparison) record companies that controlled everything. Unfortunately, most of these recordings are very obscure. Every nation has some jazz singers.