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

I don't disagree with the reissue of albums as they were originally issued, as most Japanese products are done, but I really wish they also would reissue the singles, rarities and unreleased sessions more often, whether on separate single discs or in box sets. They did this a little with some of the recordings from several jazz labels, but have rarely done it with jazz singers. There are plenty of jazz instrumental reissues from all over the world, but few do the singers. For some artists, their singles were high quality. One example is Jeri Southern. Though the Japanese reissued every album, they never did the singles. Finally, it was my own collection of her singles that was transferred to create the Fresh Sounds boxsets of Jeri.

What still surprises me is the general lack of box sets from Japan, even though it was the Japanese producer Kiyoshi Koyama that really started off the modern "complete box set" movement with his Keynote Jazz box and his Sarah Vaughan boxes in the LP era

 

I really dislike precise chronological (by session date) reissues (like the Sinatra Reprise box). But they can still collect the rarities and reissue them. My suspicion is that you really admire and appreciate the products of Bear Family, certainly a completist label and wish that they had finally produced sets by all of the singers on your top ten. Can you imagine the multi-box series of Peggy Lee that might have been on Bear Family? On the other hand, to get all of Peggy's albums on Japanese mini-LPs (minus the rarities and hundreds of singles) would cost at least several thousand dollars

 

Indeed. Bear Family has done Ella Mae Morse, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, etc. So why not Peggy Lee and Margaret Whiting? Now that Universal owns the Capitol masters it would be cheaper than in years past with EMI. And if only a small percentage of the population are buying CDs today, I'm sure the same amount of completists are still doing so.

 

Most of Richard Weize's (the founder of Bear Family for those not familiar) projects in jazz-pop singers had either some very strong connection to the movies or some indirect association with rhythm and blues/roots of rock. I think that was a cultural angle that drew Weize in. Nat Cole may be an exception, but Weize probably grew up hearing Nat Cole, as he was huge in Germany. Though most pop singers of that era appeared in films, he went for those that appeared in many films. He might have done Peggy Lee or been planning such a project when the whole CD world declined. But, as you know, Richard retired and the new owners of Bear Family seem to want to focus on something else altogether.

 

Velma Middleton was a hell of a good singer who often backed Louis Armstrong. Not sure if she got the props she deserved in her day or what. But I was always bothered by the way she was credited on one particular Satch record - in small print, almost as an after thought.

 

That was the record company, not Satchmo. He loved her and featured her prominently for 13 years. There were MANY great singers who performed with many great small touring jazz bands, especially before bop. Most often, they did not get to record in the studio with the bands. But Velma did sometimes, even though most of the record companies did not want to feature other singers. They felt their customers would complain that they bought the record for the star, not their supporting singer.

 

To be clear I don't mean to imply it was Satch who made the call, but thanks for the clarification

 

Velma made a few sessions under her own name, but it is too bad that a few companies did not record her on LPs of her own. She was probably too busy touring with Armstrong. But there were many great singers who were overlooked by the record companies.

I did a longer post about Velma sometime back, but I don't recall which thread.

 

Velma had a stroke and/or heart attack while on tour with Armstrong in Africa, and died in hospital there a month later. Though Barney Bigard grumbled that she should have been moved to a hospital in the USA, Barney certainly was not a doctor. Her condition may well have been so fragile that the attempt to move her would have meant certain death. I have known several people who lingered in a coma for a while under similar health conditions. I don't recall the singer that replaced Velma in the touring band, but I seem to recall there were problems with a younger singer who had a large ego and wanted to be the star of the show, and do material outside of Louis' style. Louis probably missed Velma's sense of humor very much. She was with him year round and all around the world for 13 years, from being a young lady until her death at 43.

Louis and Velma OWNED the song "Baby It's Cold Outside". All other versions pale in comparison, no matter how great they are. There is one supreme version on record, but I forget the date.

 

I checked, and one of my favorite Louis and Velma versions of Baby It's Cold Outside (it is below zero [F] here now), is from a live show in Seattle on September 7, 1957 (sometimes listed as October 16, 1957). It was on a Fairmont double LP (FA-1005/6), and on a number of CDs. None of the CDs has the entire show. But I should get one of the CDs. The song is on Laserlight CD 15798 and others.

1957 was a blowaway year for Armstrong. It is amazing how many of his great records were recorded that year. Nine LPs for 3 labels plus a 5LP boxset, in addition to touring the entire year.

 

Great pictures! It's great to have what we have of her on some fine recordings.

Oh man, thanks for finding the records. I'll definitely need to add that to my collection.

 

Unless I missed it, I am looking forward to your CD discography analysis of Part IV (and Part V) of Mildred Bailey's work (Crown and Majestic etc). Particularly, I am interested in the importance of getting the last volume of Chronological Classics if you already have the Baldwin Street label CD.

Your detailed comparisons are very helpful.

 

What is your favorite recording from that year Tribute, or what is really solid... ? And how do you rate that year verses his earlier work. I realize it is totally different music but I’m curious if you think it holds up well against how 20s and 30s.

 

Actually I just discovered that the one Armstrong record I have is from 57.
Armstrong meets Oscar Peterson. I’ll start there since I have not listened to it in quite some time.

 

Well put, both of you. Feel free to join us in the Patsy discussion thread anytime, and the same goes for anyone else reading this who enjoys her music

 

How fun would that be? After all, Patsy and Dexter's musical degree of separation is exactly zero—both waxed the old standard "Heartaches" and their respective versions are quite complimentary in arrangement and mood

 

I hadn't made the silver screen connection. Thanks, that makes sense. Margaret never worked in the movies, although she was big on radio and TV (Those Whiting Girls). Peggy Lee was certainly a film star, but if that reissue label has taken a new direction there is little chance of a box of any kind.

I think Nat Cole starred in at least one film, but it was apparently quite awful.

 

That is odd. In fact, one of my prized possessions are near mint copies of the first three volumes of The Complete Sarah Vaughan On Mercury from that collection. I found them at a local flea market several years ago for a reasonable price. Early compact discs (1987) with decent mastering for the time. My only criticism is that some of the discs are not full and, of course, I would like more alternate takes. The outtake of "Please Mr. Brown" is hysterical though—Sarah must've had a great sense of humour.

 

Orig press promo 1963
I am a Shorty fan ( I love All that west coast jazz) and this is a great paring on the then new Reprise label. I know Mavis has been discussed before but I just read she and Red Norvo do a Bailey tribute album. ( apologies if this was recently mentioned in the in depth postings here on Bailey , it’s hard for me to absorb all of this ) I sampled a bit of it and it sounds worth pursuing

 

Those Sarah Vaughan Complete Mercury sets were originally Vinyl Boxsets, fairly deluxe ones. The CD issues matched the vinyl sets.

 

How come most guys named Shorty are actually short, but most guys named Tiny are huge?

 

I would not compare Satchmo from 1920's to Satchmo from 1950's. But in the 1950's, I loved Armstrong singing a slow ballad. He did a good number of them in 1957. You may note in many of my posts that I hesitate to rate or rank performances or say one is my favorite. I avoid the same thing when thinking of the women in my life. I can say that I have a sentimental favorite, but I have many of those (talking about music here).

 

I hope that Ridin'High is working on his Part IV and V... Regardless, I have to say:
Tribute, despite of its good content, you have to think twice before buying Classics Vol.9 1943-45.

In Posts #1313-1314 (you read) I analyzed it and said: "Something went wrong with this CD - all tracks (beside 2-3 songs) had a low dynamics and lack of the sound clarity. Sound was over compressed - looks like "Loudness War" went into the Classics studio".
Then, I started looking for an alternative CD and decided to get a Baldwin CD, as all my Baldwin CDs sound good. I compared it with Classics Vol.9. you probably missed Post #1326 regarding this matter where I said: I can recommend Baldwin CD, because it has a very decent sound, incomparably better than Classics Vol.9 - it is probably the best digital version, so far.

Warning:
In addition to this, many (if not all) Classics CDs were ripped on CD-R and are on a market now for $15 and more.
It started as the pirates (?) copies several years ago - I think. However, now retailers offer legitimate copies as CD-R.

 

I never buy a "new" copy of a Chronological Classics CD anymore. When you buy used, you nearly always get an original REAL CD.

 

Many people who bought CD-R a few years ago have no idea that they've got CD-R. You have to ask them to verify whether it is original or CD-R.