Glad I bought this scorcher
tntee | New England | 10/03/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Never heard of Cleo Laine till I saw her perform in the HBO movie "The Last of the Blonde Bombshells". I ran to the computer and looked her up. A dozen albums--but which one to pick? Figuring you couldn't go wrong with Duke, I went for this one. WOW! What a voice! Smoky, rich and with (I'm told) a 3 octave range that she shows off plenty. I have yet to hear a version of "I've got it Bad (and that ain't good)" that I like better--sorry Ella, sorry Nina, sorry Rosemary--. Cleo's version of Creole Love Call? Whew! Call the fire department--this is one HOT album."
One of the jazz greats singing works of one of the jazz grea
Barbara Magalnick | New York City | 03/02/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Cleo Laine sings Ellington and, as she does with so much of the music she performs, she now owns a great deal of Ellington. She somehow becomes a part of the music, and her voice is one of the greatest instruments to be heard on any jazz recording. I attended a Cleo Laine concert at Carnegie Hall, and so many of the numbers she did that evening have a permament place in my head and heart. She is just magnificent. And, by the way, as a performer, she has a special charismatic magic beyond the voice. And that voice belongs in everyone's collection."
Cleo Laine at the Peak of her Powers
Peter Munro | Perth, Western Australia | 07/07/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Recorded in 1994 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra led by Mercer Ellington and conducted by her husband John Dankworth, this CD finds Cleo Laine at the peak of her considerable vocal ability. All the songs are either the Duke's compositions or Billy Strayhorn's and Cleo is as well equipped to interpret them as any singer past or present.
Recommended to any Ellington of Cleo Laine fans."