Anita O’Day Sings The Most
These days whenever I’m bored out of my
wits – and trust me, this happens often - I would surf the internet
to search for random Jazz artists. If reading their biographies
interest me enough, I would write them off in my list for my next
visit to the records store.
One such artist is Anita O’day.
My first impression was that she’s
another one of those Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald [albeit white]
divas, and as talented as they were, I’ve heard enough of them to
warrant a brief hiatus from their kind. So what was it about Anita that
caught my attention? It’s not her beauty [back in the days]. It’s not
her inspirational story of being able to kick the [coke] habit. But
when I read that “bop” - hard hitting jazz style - is among her
forte, I jumped on my seat and exclaimed, “There’s bop in singing?
Wow! I sure would like to hear how that plays out!”
Last Saturday, I got her “Anita Sings
the Most” album, which was purportedly her best, ever. As my friend
saw the jewel case, he noticed that under the title is a caption “with
the Oscar Peterson Quintet”. And then he exclaimed. While I managed
to contain my amazement, I wondered how in heaven’s name would one be
able to sing with Oscar Peterson while keeping pace. Oscar is, after
all, notorious for his extreme high tempo and flamboyance. If
Anita would be able to sing well, contrary to being drowned in
Oscar’s playing-as-though-I-have-four-hands performances, then I
would really be impressed; and I wouldn’t have faulted her if she failed.
Now that I’m done listening to the
album, color me speechless.
Okay, so maybe that was an oxymoron.
After all, what am I doing here?
It wasn’t a mistake that Anita sings
bop. In some songs (such as “Them There Eyes” and “Love Me or
Leave Me”) she works at such a frenetic pace faster than I can
finish this sentence. There wasn’t any compromise between she and the
terrific quintet (which consist of prominent figures like Ray Brown)
that supported. Oscar plays as fast as he’s ever had and Anita shows
no signs of being left behind.
When things slow down a little, Anita
would also indulge in some crooning, and she does it equally well.
The quality of her [mostly alto] voice, so smoky and so exuberant, gives her such a wide range for singing what
are requisite of different Jazz styles, and she can even scat sing as
though her voice is merely a percussion. It’s very entertaining to listen to.
All things considered, the overall effort of Anita + the Quintet goes very far to flesh
out everyone’s talent. It’s not merely the voice. It’s not merely the piano. There’s a fair segment for everyone - be it Herb Ellis (guitarist), Ray Brown (bassist), and John Poole (drums) - to flaunt their skills. As a result, everyone seems to be having a lot of fun.
And lest we forget, that’s what collaborations
are all about. I can’t recommend this album enough. Score: 5 out of 5.
I look forward to hear more from Anita; to think that it all came from a little boredom and some looking around. If only all kinds of boredom would result to me finding stuffs that are really rewarding, it would’ve been "’S Wonderful".
