Search - Bev Kelly :: In Person

It's a pleasant set of standards

12/24/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bev Kelly released but a handful of records. She was still in her twenties when this live date was recorded, after which she gently faded without a trace. Most definitely a student of the cool school, her singing shows a strong influence of Anita O'Day: in her pinched vocal style, her phrasing--including the way she spins a vibrato at the top of her range, and even in her diction (perhaps because both singers started in the Chicago area.) Yet she displays a vulnerability not heard in O'Day. At times when she goes for dramatic effect (as on "Body and Soul") she resembles Chris Connor, another cool vocalist, and there are some inevitable echoes of June Christy as well. It's a pleasant set of standards ("Then I'll Be Tired of You" being the only tune which couldn't be called overdone) with an excellent quartet featuring Pony Poindexter and Flip Nunez. While not an essential addition to any collection, it will be of interest to fans of O'Day, Connor and Christy."

Still great after 40 years

10/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was excited to see that this little known LP has been remixed and re-released. I spent many hours in 1960-61 in the North Beach jazz spots in San Francisco. Bev Kelly was a favorite and I still have my aged LP from those days. Her love for Billie Holiday comes through on these standards and her backup group is a delight. It's a shame that this talent drifted away, leaving so little behind. Hear her now and you can experience the emotion she brought to her singing."

Bev Kelly still swinging

E. Richard Kaye | Buffalo, New York | 12/19/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bev Kelly sounds terrific in this late-night session from the 1950's, recorded live and intimately in a club setting. It is one of two albums she recorded for the legendary Riverside label. She made few recordings back in the day, but her fans who have commented here should be made aware that Bev has not dispapeared without a trace as was suggested in previous reviews. She is alive and well and hosts her own web site. She is also a practicing psychotherapist with a PHD. Besides the classic reisuues,two fairly recent albums are also available, both are interesting in their own right. Let's hope that Bev Kelly will continue to record now that a new generation of fans has discovered her and some of her admirers from years gone by have returned to once again enjoy her work.

-Rick"