ERNESTINE IS VOCALIST SUPREME!
A. POLLOCK | PLYMOUTH, DEVON United Kingdom | 03/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ernestine Anderson's long career is somewhat at odds with her undervalued reputation as a supreme jazz singer in the same league as Ella, Sarah, Carmen and Billie. However, she has the respect of musicians who know about the vocal aspects which makes a singer great so Ernestine has been in good company whenever appearing in concert and on record during the decades she has built her formidable reputation as an honest interpreter of the Great American Songbook.
Jasmine's reissue of Ernestine's initial solo albums does us all a favour with their original sleeve-notes reproduced as back-up to give flavour to the twenty-three included tracks. HOT CARGO was recorded in Sweden in 1958 and soon found release in the USA with THE TOAST OF THE NATIONS CRITICS celebrating Ernestine's impact on the jazz scene that same year. Both follow through with Ernestine's engaging style and thought for lyrics with MAD ABOUT THE BOY, THAT OLD FEELING, AUTUMN IN NEW YORK and LITTLE GIRL BLUE amongst treasures from the first set and STARDUST, MY SHIP and THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU allowing Ernestine to stamp the follow-up album with more of the same.
Now nearing eighty-one years of age, it would appear Ernestine is still out there as a serious survivor of that great age of jazz singers for whom the original long playing album was the ideal place to hone their talent by having the Great American Songbook from which to pick the greatest songs. These two excellent albums are testament to that fact.
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