The Ultimate Dinah Washington

Performer: Dinah Washington
Artist: Clifford Brown; Max Roach; Clark Terry; Maynard Ferguson
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Dinah Washington (vocals); Harold Land, Paul Quinchette (tenor saxophone); Clifford Brown, Maynard Ferguson, Clark Terry (trumpet); Junior Mance, Wynton Kelly (piano); Keter Betts (bass); Max Roach (drums). Producers include: Leonard Feather, Quincy Jones, Clyde Otis, Bob Shad. Recorded between 1947 & 1959. Includes liner notes by Abbey Lincoln. This is part of The Ultimate Verve Series. Perhaps the greatest of all jazz blues singers, Dinah Washington sang with a tough, rarely sentimental, and gritty approach, yet her voice was always warm, yearning, and even vulnerable. Compiled by Abby Lincoln (herself a noted jazz singer), on ULTIMATE DINAH WASHINGTON Washington performs tunes from both small group and orchestral sessions dating back to the '40s and '50s. On "I Could Write a Book," Washington is teamed up with a nonet featuring Clark Terry (trumpet) and Paul Quinichette (sax), but on tunes such as "Unforgettable" and "What a Difference a Day Makes" we hear her singing over a lush string ensemble. On all of these tracks, Washington sings with a sharp emotional sting, always avoiding sappiness or schmaltziness. Undoubtedly the definitive Dinah Washington greatest hits record, ULTIMATE DINAH WASHINGTON represents the singer in her prime, before she ventured off into straight R&B and middle-of-the-road pop.

Despite a relatively short career--she died in 1963 at the age of 39--Dinah Washington laid claim to being one of the major jazz voices, and one of the most versatile of all jazz singers. Her voice was rich; she filled everything she sang with heartfelt emotion, and she could make even material of less than stellar quality sound deeply moving. More importantly, she was equally at home (and had hits) with blues, popular songs of the day, and standards; toward the end she also became a major voice of the burgeoning soul movement.

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