Sings The Winners + At Mister Kelly's (2 LP on 1 CD)

This release contains the complete 1958 original album Anita ODay Sings the Winners, in which the singer pays tribute to the greatest poll winning jazzmen by singing their most celebrated songs with arrangements by Marty Paich and Russell Garcia.

As a bonus, the complete O'Day performances at Mr Kelly's restaurant in Chicago recorded later the same month with a trio.


Tracklisting:

01. TAKE THE A TRAIN (For Duke Ellington) (2:53)
02. TENDERLY (For Oscar Peterson) (2:41)
03. INTERLUDE [A NIGHT IN TUNISIA] (For Dizzy Gillespie) (2:36)
04. FOUR (For Miles Davis) (2:51)
05. EARLY AUTUMN (For Stan Getz) (3:11)
06. FOUR BROTHERS (For Woody Herman) (2:27)
07. SING, SING, SING (WITH A SWING) (For Gene Krupa & Benny Goodman) (3:34)
08. MY FUNNY VALENTINE (For Gerry Mulligan) (3:37)
09. FRENESI (For Artie Shaw) (3:05)
10. BODY AND SOUL (For Coleman Hawkins) (3:24)
11. WHATS YOUR STORY, MORNING GLORY (For Jimmie Lunceford) (3:50)
12. THE PEANUT VENDOR [EL MANISERO] (For Stan Kenton) (2:40)
13. BUT NOT FOR ME (3:09)
14. MEDLEY (4:54):
I HAVE A REASON FOR LIVING
MY LOVE FOR YOU
15. THE VARSITY DRAG (1:48)
16. IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND (3:07)
17. TEA FOR TWO (3:48)
18. EVERYTIME IM WITH YOU (2:10)
19. HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES? (2:09)
20. THE WILDEST GAL IN TOWN (2:39)
21. STAR EYES (3:03)
22. LONELINESS IS A WELL (3:09)
23. THE SONG IS YOU (3:19)

Total time: 70:15 min.


Tracks #1-12 from "Anita O'Day Sings The Winners" (Verve MGV-8283).

Tracks #13-23 from "Anita O'Day At Mrister Kelly's" (Verve MGVS-6043).


Personnel on "Sings The Winners":
[1-6] Anita O'Day (vcl), Buddy Childers, Dick Collins, Jack Sheldon, Frank Beach (tp), Pete Carpenter, Bob Fitzpatrick, Dave Wells, Dick Nash (tb), John Kitzmiller (tuba), Med Flory (as), Herbie Mann (ts, fl), Bill Perkins (ts, bs), Jimmy Rowles (p), Buddy Clark (b) and Mel Lewis (d). Russell Garcia (arr), Marty Paich (arr, cond). Recorded in Los Angeles, on April 3, 1958.

[7-12] Anita O'Day (vcl), Billy Catalano, Jules Chaiken, Phil Gilbert, Lee Katzman, Sam Noto (tp), Bob Enevoldsen, Jim Amlotte, Kent Larsen, Archie LeCoque, Ken Shroyer (tb), Benny Carter (as), Buddy Collette, Babe Russin (ts), Ronnie Lang (as, bar), Paul Smith (p), Tony Rizzi (g), Red Mitchell (b) and Alvin Stoller (d). Russell Garcia (arr & cond). Recorded in Los Angeles, on April 2, 1958.


Personnel on "At Mister Kelly's":
Anita O'Day (vcl), Joe Masters (p), Eldee Young (b) and John Poole (d). Recorded live at Mister Kellys Restaurant, Chicago, on April 27, 1958.


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Notes:

-Sings The Winners

"Anita O'Day sings standards associated with other musicians, including "Four" (Miles Davis), "Early Autumn" (Stan Getz), "Four Brothers" (Woody Herman), "Sing, Sing, Sing" (Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa) and "Peanut Vendor" (Stan Kenton). Some of the material is unusual for a singer to interpret, but O'Day, one of the top jazz vocalists of the decade, improvises when the lyrics are not that strong (or barely exist). The backup by the Russ Garcia Orchestra is not all that memorable, but the focus is entirely on the vocalist, and O'Day really comes through."

Scott Yanow -All Music Guide


-At Mister Kelly's

"Caught live with just her piano trio at Chicago's famous now-defunct nightclub, Anita O'Day is in an ebullient mood as she tosses off a series of standards and novelties. Whether this is an accurate snapshot of her live act is open to question; the stage business in between numbers seems rather formal and one doesn't really feel the excitement of a live performance. Yet O'Day is clearly in a creative mood, whether allowing her vulnerability to show in the torchy ballads or reveling in the boppish up-tempo workouts. Her vocal on "Tea for Two" is a virtuoso deconstruction, full of satiric quotes and rhythmic shifts at a warp-speed tempo. Fleet-fingered Joe Masters decorates the fills with standard bop runs on the slightly-out-of-tune house piano."

Richard S. Ginell -All Music Guide