Personnel:
Beverly Kelly, Dolores Hawkins (vcl), Ruby Braff (tp), Pat Moran, Hank jones (p), Barry Galbraith (g), Scott LaFaro, Milt Hinton (b), Johnny Whited, Osie johnson (d)
Reference: FSR V106 CD
Bar code: 8427328641067
The Best Voices Time Forgot
Collectible Albums by Top Female Vocalists
· Collector's Edition
· 2 Original LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art, Liner Notes
· Complete Personnel Details
· Stereo / Hi Fi Recordings
· Newly Remastered in 24-Bit
Beverly Kelly Sings
The solid musicianship of Beverly Kelly results in excellent diction and unusual accuracy of pitch and rhythm. You will notice from the very first note her truly fine vocal quality and complete ease in any register. She’s backed splendidly by the swinging Pat Moran Trio, which introduced the youthful spirit and unlimited talent of bassist Scott LaFaro, in an exuberant mood.
Dolores
Miss Hawkins sings with a great deal of enthusiasm. On ballads, rhythm numbers or novelties, she invariably creates contact with her audience and mesmerizes them. She unleashes a finely spun vocal line that, along with her vibrant voice, leaves no area unexplored in these moody evocations of love. And along the way, Hank Jones’ quartet feeds Dolores with a warm, tasty and balanced base, sparked on some tracks by a trumpet and saxophone solos.
"Here’s another two-LP collection of music in Fresh Sound’s fine Best Voices Time Forgot series. The first 12 tracks are from Beverly Kelly’s 1957 album made for a company called Audio Fidelity that specialised in early high-fidelity stereo recordings. It certainly sounds good with the aid of today’s digital mastering and Ms Kelly’s voice comes though clear as a bell, emphasising her exceptional tone and phrasing.
She is particularly impressive on slow, sad ballads and really puts a wealth of feeling and a tinge of real melancholy into her version of You Don’t Know What Love Is. I Wish I Knew is also delivered with much pathos in her distinctive voice. She also swings easily on pieces like I Get A Kick and the bouncing You And The Night.
Kelly is supported by the Pat Moran trio which has Scott LaFaro on bass on what would have been one of his earliest record dates. Although she qualifies as a “best that time forgot” she did make a comeback of sorts in the 1960s, recording two LPs for Riverside and working with Pony Poindexter.
Almost completely forgotten now, Dolores Hawkins made her LP for Epic Records in 1956. She had a very strong voice and judging by the delivery of these tracks, a strong personality. She is very impressive here with her personal versions of Lover Man and Baby Won’t You Please Come Home.
Her collection includes crisp interpretations of lesser known compositions like Dream Of You and Goodnight My Love. She gives a warm reading to I’m In The Mood and is well supported by the Hank Jones quartet with Milt Hinton and Osie Johnson. Some tracks feature soft-focus trumpet by Ruby Braff in mainstream mode and a tenor sax/flute player that Epic failed to identify.
These are high quality jazz-vocal albums, and rock & roll has a lot to answer for in being partially responsible for helping kill music like this."
Derek Ansell (June 28, 2019)
https://jazzjournal.co.uk
