Ada Lee was born in Springfield, Ohio where she grew in a musical family. Her real “discovery” came in 1960 when George Wein, organizer of —among others— the Newport jazz festival, heard her in Buffalo. He not only booked her for the Buffalo Jazz Festival that year, but he also became her personal manager.

A year later she made her debut on record with the album ADA LEE COMES ON!, under the musical direction of the versatile and talented composer-arranger Dick Hyman. The material Ada chose was as moving as her voice and interpretation. Of the sessions, she said, “we sure had a lot of fun. It was like those old-time after-hours jam sessions. The musicians enjoyed my letting my hair down.”

That much is clear from the spontaneous feeling of this impressive set of recordings that launched Ada Lee’s career off to a beautiful start.

—Jordi Pujol (From the liner notes of FSRV 120)