Georgia on My Mind - Anita O'Day, Carmichael, Hoagy
Thanks for the Boogie Ride - Anita O'Day, Mitchell, Sidney
Tea for Two - Anita O'Day, Caesar, Irving
That's What You Think - Anita O'Day, Cohn, Al
Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina - Anita O'Day, Shaftel, Arthur
Barrelhouse Bessie from Basin Street - Anita O'Day, Magidson, Herbert
Green Eyes - Anita O'Day, Menendez, Nilo
Kick It - Anita O'Day, Bauer, Vernier
Slow Down - Anita O'Day, Evans, Redd
Watch the Birdie - Anita O'Day, DePaul, Gene
Boogie Blues - Anita O'Day, Biondi, Remo
Bolero at the Savoy - Anita O'Day, Biondi, Remo
Massachusetts - Anita O'Day, Razaf, Andy
Harlem on Parade - Anita O'Day, Carter, Benny [1]
Let Me Off Uptown - Anita O'Day, Bostic, Earl
Gene Krupa came to epitomize Swing Era drumming during his tenure with Benny Goodman, and he brought the same kinetic energy to his own big band. The band really developed steam, though, when Anita O'Day joined it as vocal... more »ist in 1941. She was the perfect singer for the drummer's approach, with a hipster personality, high-flying energy, and fluent, jazz-rooted phrasing that easily distanced her from the other white band singers of the day. It resulted in a string of hits, many of them included here, usually delivered with a manic vitality that would embarrass current pretenders to the form. While the uptempo swing, boogie, and novelty tunes were the band's forte, O'Day's wistful voice and the tight horn sections also distinguish the renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" and "Georgia on My Mind." The great trumpeter Roy Eldridge was a jewel among a good collection of soloists, and his brash trumpet and bantering duet with O'Day on the title track contribute to a period masterpiece. --Stuart Broomer« less
Gene Krupa came to epitomize Swing Era drumming during his tenure with Benny Goodman, and he brought the same kinetic energy to his own big band. The band really developed steam, though, when Anita O'Day joined it as vocalist in 1941. She was the perfect singer for the drummer's approach, with a hipster personality, high-flying energy, and fluent, jazz-rooted phrasing that easily distanced her from the other white band singers of the day. It resulted in a string of hits, many of them included here, usually delivered with a manic vitality that would embarrass current pretenders to the form. While the uptempo swing, boogie, and novelty tunes were the band's forte, O'Day's wistful voice and the tight horn sections also distinguish the renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" and "Georgia on My Mind." The great trumpeter Roy Eldridge was a jewel among a good collection of soloists, and his brash trumpet and bantering duet with O'Day on the title track contribute to a period masterpiece. --Stuart Broomer
William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 05/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is big band jazz/swing with vocals, and most of the selections were recorded in 1941, half-a-year before Pearl Harbor changed the destinies of all the players, all the audiences. These are O'Day's first recordings, and her star power is evident from her first verses. She started 61 years ago, and still sings occasionally in Los Angeles. Amazing. Gene Krupa was a good bandleader in addition to being a wild drummer. His orchestra has some great players, especially Roy Eldrige on trumpet. If you could only afford one CD in your collection to represent the pre-war big band sound, this would not be a bad choice. I only knew of four of the 18 songs in advance, but frankly, all of them are good listening. I am not a dancer, but this CD makes me want to dance; I am not a singer, but it makes me wish I could; I don't play an instrument, but this CD reminds me to regret it. Whether you approach big band music as a serious fan, or with a campy attitude, you cannot help but have fun when you give Anita, Gene, Roy and their cohorts 53 minutes to serenade you."
Swing era classics
William E. Adams | 07/11/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Anita O'Day's voice is rythmic and lilting as it floats above the driving Krupa beat. To me, however, the best reason to purchase this CD is Roy Eldridge's outstanding solos. Listening to him propel to the heavens on Let Me Off Uptown is worth the price of the CD alone. Remastering is superb--outstanding sound complete with CEDAR noise reduction. One can only hope that Columbia gets around to treating the rest of its trove of swing era classics with the same care."
Anita's the best there is in the femme jazz vocal department
Aaron | Aaron | 03/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Anita is simply the best there is in the female jazz vocal department, always using her voice as an instrument, she is the best of all bop singers, and was the best singer of the swing era too. These are her early sessions with Gene Krupa & Roy Eldridge, they are all wonderful, especially O'Day. Although her Verve sessions from the 50's & 60's are deliciously more enjoyable, these sessions should satisfy swing vocalist fans, as well as O'Day fans. Also get her autobiagraphy to read while you listen to these amazing and stunning sides, and last go see her, she still puts on a darn good show, and creates a lot of excitement by costantly improvising. As an Anita O'Day fan I try to see her once a month at The Atlas in Los Angeles, though she plays more intimate clubs too."
Excellent introduction to both Anita and the Krupa band
T. Maddison | London | 02/24/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I thoroughly enjoyed this compilation, both the tracks I was familiar with and those I was not. The sound quality is very good indeed - only "Massachussetts" is slightly underpowered - I think it may be an alternate take to the one I have on vinyl, where Krupa's cymbols (absent here) drive the surging middle riff section. O'Day was a very different big band singer to her more anonymous predecessors - her singing very much expresses a personality, integral to the band, part of its character, not just a decorative addition. Krupa experimented bravely with bop in the band's final years, but never allowed the music to sag under its own weight as happened with many bands as the era drew to a close; Everything here is classic swing, snappy and tight. Inevitably, any reviews of the O'Day/Krupa years will linger over the phenomenal contributions of their star trumpeter Roy Eldridge, 'Little Jazz', hero and inspiration of Dizzy Gillespie. He was probably the best big band soloist ever. 'Let Me Off Uptown' is his most famous moment with Krupa, but his solo on 'Green Eyes' is for me even greater - one of those rare moments when a single player raises an ordinary tune to the level of sheer wonder. Superbly underpinned first just by (an excellent) Krupa and then the whole surging band, Eldridge cuts loose into the realm of the sublime, and I'd recommend the album for this alone, but, of course, there's much more to enjoy from all the participants. Eldridge had a rather torrid time with the band as the only black member, particularly on tour, and the strain he felt (and his own sense of stardom) made him somewhat prickly, as O'Day has testified to - interesting to know when listening to their easy rapport on the title track."
Uptown Girl
Original Mixed Up-Kid | New York United States | 06/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a fine mid price collection sounding wonderful with great photos and notes...Husky voice Anita, Roy blowing,Krupa banging his drum..this is fine stuff that layed it down for others to follow.
If you dig it get Drummer Man, a later verve revisit by this band that really swings hard on a lot of these numbers as well as UPTOWN cd on Columbia from which many of these tracks were taken.(hard to find but worth it)..Roy's Little Jazz collection is also a must.. it is all pure."