DINAH WASHINGTON

Hal Mooney and his Orchestra

featuring

Cannonball Adderley alto sax

Junior Mance piano

Arranged and Conducted by Hal Mooney. Recorded April 24, 25 1956 in New York.

1. OUR LOVE IS HERETO STAY (George and Ira Gershwin) 3:06
2. LET ME LOVE YOU (Bart Howard) 2:09
3. THERE'LL BE A JUBILEE (Phil Moore) 2:06
4. MY IDEAL (Richard Whiting) 2:19
5. I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU (George and Ira Gershwin) 3:03
6. LET'S DO IT (Cole Porter) 2:36
7. NOTHING EVER CHANGES MY LOVE FOR YOU (Jack Segal/Marvin Fisher) 2:33
8. WHAT'LL I TELL MY HEART (Peter Tinturn/Jack Lawrence) 3:16
9. SUNNYSIDE OF THE STREET (Dorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh) 2:26
10 SAYIT ISN'T SO (Irving Berlin)2:40
11 SOMETIMES I'M HAPPY (Irving Caesar/Clifford Grey/Vincent Youmons)2:16
12 IF I WERE A BELL (Frank Loesser)2:04

Ruth Jones hos come a long way since playing a piano for a church choir and winning on amateur contest at the age of 15 in Chicaga. You may not think you know Ruth Jones, but I'm sure you remember a girl by the name of Dinah Washington who song with Lionel Hampton from 1943 to 1946 and went on as a single thereafter to earn the title "Queen of the Blues." They are one and the same.

There aren't many more versatile singers, who still remain jazz singers, than Dinah. She is able to apply her own distinctive style to songs ranging from the blues through Mad About The Boy to If I Were A Bell. You have heard her in many settings in recent years and she has always acquitted herself brilliantly. Now she is off to the Land of Hi-Fi. Another setting, another triumph.
Who belongs In The Land Of Hi-Fi more than the lady with a hi-fi voice? Long before the advances in recorded sound, Dinah had a wonderful resonant quality. In the land of hi-fi, a good thing gets better.
Dinah makes it emphatic that Our Love Is Here To Stay. Between her two statements the orchestra romps in exchanges with pianist Junior Mance. She states another strong case in Let Me Love You against on insinuating Latin background. There'll Be A Jubilee fulfills that promise as it makes it, with Dinah "preaching" and EmArcy's new alto star "Cannonball" Adderley blowing a spirited solo.
Strings frame Dinah's beautiful questioning in My Ideal and muted trumpets, used effectively several times during the proceedings, enhance her convincing I've Gota Crush On You. The Washington sense Of humor is blended with Cole Porter's in the delightful sociology and biology of Let's Do it.
The mambo beat of Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You is followed by Dinah's special kind of feeling that permeates What'll I Tell My Heart ? The sunbaoms are literally dancing through the grooves on Sunny Side Of The Street as Dinah takes you walking. Flutes and strings complement her Say It lsn't So as she injects a bluesy sadness so effectively.
Sometimes I'm Happy is medium- bounced by Dinah with the brass punctuating adroitly; the two team up again to close things out with a ringing If I Were A Bell. Dinah sings, "If I were a gate, I'd be swinging." The Truth is, she'd be swinging no matter what form she took. Listen to the way she peals out the ending.
In The Land Of Hi-Fi, as always, Dinah shows her roundness of sound, depth of tone and sharp edge of clarity. Here these qualities are brought out in all their warmth and exuberance. The ease that she maintains in front of all size combinations is in evidence too.
Here is Dinah Washington In The Land Of Hi-Fi, and what makes it so nice is that you ore right there with her.

Cannonball RDV