ANNIE ROSS — Four Classic Albums Plus (Annie by Candlelight | Gypsy | A Gasser | Sings a Song with Mulligan) 2CD (2011) FLAC

Although most of her best performances came in tandem with Jon Hendricks and Dave Lambert, Annie Ross recorded a lot of quality material on her own, and most of it is right here. A collection of her (mostly) solo material from the '50s, Four Classic Albums finds Ross close to the height of her vocal powers, with excellent interpretive skills and a quickly shifting tone (sometimes caressing, other times catty). The two highlights of these classic albums are Gypsy, her run-through of the classic musical, and Sings a Song with Mulligan!, her duet album with Gerry Mulligan that ranks as one of the finest jazz vocalist/instrumentalist pairings ever (and thereby, one of the best vocal albums of all time). “I Feel Pretty” is impossibly spry and bouncy, with both Ross and Mulligan showing off their musical dexterity, playing off each other's notes with kittenish glee. Most of the rest of the material is of the torch song variety, which Ross does quite well, although the sound is a little compressed (usually the fault of the original source material, no knock on the Avid label). Rounding up a few stray EPs and bonus tracks, this is a great way to accumulate most of Ross' best solo work. John Bush  

Track Listing - Disc 1
1 The Way You Look Tonight  3:02
2 I'm Beginning to Think You Care   2:39
Frisch / Tennyson
3 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea  2:16
Harold Arlen
4 Everytime  3:11
5 Gypsy in My Soul  2:40
Boland
6 I Love Paris   2:18
Cole Porter
7 I Didn't Know About You  3:21
Duke Ellington
8 The Lady's in Love with You  2:14

9 'Taint What You Do  2:45

10 Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying  4:50
11 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea  2:25
Harold Arlen
12 Don't Worry 'Bout Me  2:20
13 I've Told Every Little Star  2:26
14 Manhattan  2:09
15 Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone  2:28
16 Skylark  3:00
17 Overture  3:46
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
18 Everything's Coming Up Roses  3:47
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
19 You'll Never Get Away   3:32
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
20 Some People  4:13
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
21 All I Need Is a Boy  2:58
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
22 Small World  2:38
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
23 Together  4:39
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
24 Let Me Entertain You  3:36
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
25 Reprise  2:18
Stephen Sondheim / Jule Styne
26 Annie's Lament  2:59
Annie Ross

Track Listing - Disc 2
1 Everything I've Got  2:58
2 Invitation to the Blues  4:13
3 I Didn't Know About You  5:33
Duke Ellington
4 I Don't Want to Cry Any More  6:02
5 Lucky Day  2:15
6 I Was Doin' All Right  2:37
7 You Took Advantage of Me  3:54
8 You're Nearer  5:06
9 Lucky So and So  4:50
Duke Ellington
10 Nobody's Baby  2:55
Santly
11 I Feel Pretty  3:34
Bernstein
 12 How About You  2:51
13 I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face  3:02
Lerner
14 This Time the Dream's on Me  3:25
Harold Arlen

15 Let There Be Love   3:45

16 All of You  2:20
Cole Porter
 17 Give Me the Simple Life  3:36
18 This Is Always  4:21
19 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea  3:42
Harold Arlen
20 It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)  1:41
Duke Ellington
21 Twisted  2:41
22 Farmer's Market  2:44
Farmer

Credits
-CD1: #1-4 ("Singin' 'n Swingin"):
Annie Ross - vocals
Milt Jackson - vibraphone
Blossom Dearie - piano
Kenny Clarke - drums
Percy Heath - bass
Rec.: New York, 1 April 1952.

-CD1: #5-12 ("Annie by Candlelight") & #13-16 ("Nocturne for Vocalist"):
Annie Ross - vocals
Bob Burns - clarinet
Tony Crombie - piano
Roy Plummer - guitar
Lennie Bush - bass
Rec.: London, 28 August 1956.

-CD1: #17-25 ("Gypsy"):
Annie Ross - vocals
Buddy Bregman - arranger
Jim Hall - guitar
Herb Geller - alto saxophone
Richie Kamuca, Stan Getz - tenor saxophone
Bill Perkins - baritone saxophone
Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli - trumpet
Frank Rosolino - trombone
Russ Freeman - piano
Mel Lewis - drums
Rec.: Los Angeles, 1959.

-CD2: #1-10 ("A Gasser"):
Annie Ross - vocals
Zoot Sims - tenor saxophone
Bill Perkins - tenor saxophone
Russ Freeman - piano
Billy Bean, Jim Hall - guitar,
Monty Budwig - bass
Mel Lewis, Frankie Capp - drums
Rec.: Los Angeles, February 1959.

-CD2: #11-20 ("Sings a Song with Mulligan"):
Annie Ross – vocals
Gerry Mulligan – baritone sax
Art Farmer - trumpet
Chet Baker - trumpet
Tony Crombie – piano
Bill Crow - bass
Henry Grimes - bass
Dave Bailey – drums
Rec.: New York, December 1957.