Search - Shirley Horn, Dizzy Gillespie :: Where Are You Going/The Real Thing [2 on 1]

Early Shirley

09/20/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This two-fer contains Shirley Horn's "Where Are You Going?" first published in the late '60's. As the LP is now out of print we are thankful that the album was reissued as a CD. The sound quality is excellent, however, I don't think one will purchase this recording just for the sound. The selections are intimate musings with her trio closer in theme to her "Softly" CD. As I recall, the liner notes on the LP were by Miles Davis. He said simply: "Shirley Horn has arrived." Indeed, she has. A formidable talent, Shirley Horn continues in her quiet way make music that is deeply satisfying. Ms. Horn has inspired many imitators, but do not be deceived by them. Go directly to the source. If you who wish to hear some early Shirley, then by all means, add this to your collection."

Great albums, poor sound quality

Patrick | Tri-Cities, WA USA | 04/15/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD features two great, but lesser known albums on one CD. The first is by vocalist Shirley Horn, and is quite excellent. The second is by Dizzy Gillespie, and is also quite excellent. In fact, I'm surprised how unknown both of these albums seem to be.



The Dizzy Gillespie albums is a special treat, because it is one of the only I know of that features Diz playing jazz-funk and soul jazz, instead of hist standard bebop and big band music. I would say the jazz-funk is better than average for the era too, not just relying on the traditional 12-bar blues or basic one chord funk jams that many of the jazz-funk albums do that were made during the era. In fact, Alligator is actually modal in form, reminiscent of some of Herbie Hancock's compositions. Other favorite compositions for me include Matrix and Summertime, which are both super funky soul jazz tunes, the latter being one of the best covers of Gershwin's Summertime I've heard yet.



One caveat for potential purchasers of this CD: the sound quality is disappointingly poor. These two albums are in major need of some re-mastering. For albums originally recorded in the early 1970's, these songs should sound much clearer than they do. My only hope is that these two albums get re-released (perhaps individually) with some good re-mastering. Perhaps this has already been done. If so, I'd look for those copies instead. But if not, I still recommend this CD, because much of the music is so good, you should get a chance to hear it."