Dinah '62 [Bonus Tracks]

Performer: Dinah Washington
Engineer: Eddie Smith
Producer: Henry Glover; Michael Cuscuna (Reissue)
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Dinah Washington (vocals); Fred Norman (arranger). Recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York, New York in March 1962. Originally released on Roulette (25170). Personnel: Dinah Washington (vocals). Audio Remixer: Malcolm Addey. Liner Note Author: Donald Elfman. Recording information: Bell Sound Studios, New York, NY (03/1962). Arranger: Fred Norman. The first of five LPs Dinah Washington recorded for Roulette during her last year and a half of life, Dinah '62 finds one of the foremost interpreters in vocal jazz treading merrily through a set of standards informed by Fred Norman's modern and commercially slanted big-band arrangements. Despite a few trad vocal backgrounds, most of these charts never overwhelm the songs or Washington's performances, and sometimes add to them; this version of the decades-old "Red Sails in the Sunset" benefits from its earthy electric guitar and organ. The singer brings a lifetime of experience to these songs, carrying the soporific world-weariness of Johnny Mercer's "Drinking Again" but then skating rompishly over the light novelty "Destination Moon." Washington is far more willing to indulge in histrionics than earlier in her career, but still exhibits remarkable control over her vocalizing, whether light or forceful. ~ John Bush The first of five LPs Dinah Washington recorded for Roulette during her last year and a half of life, Dinah '62 finds one of the foremost interpreters in vocal jazz treading merrily through a set of standards informed by Fred Norman's modern and commercially slanted big-band arrangements. Despite a few trad vocal backgrounds, most of these charts never overwhelm the songs or Washington's performances, and sometimes add to them; this version of the decades-old "Red Sails in the Sunset" benefits from its earthy electric guitar and organ. The singer brings a lifetime of experience to these songs, carrying the soporific world-weariness of Johnny Mercer's "Drinking Again" but then skating rompishly over the light novelty "Destination Moon." Washington is far more willing to indulge in histrionics than earlier in her career, but still exhibits remarkable control over her vocalizing, whether light or forceful. [EMI's 2003 reissue of Dinah '62 added four songs recorded at the same session but released on subsequent LPs, including the hard-living "Me and My Gin."] ~ John Bush

Q (11/03, p.139) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The much-married Queen Of The Blues was always soulful, ever feisty..."

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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