| Review by sgb October 2, 2005 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics: |
I've been an Ernestine Anderson fan for almost 26 years, and in that time I've collected nearly every one of her albums (most of which were so old and hard to find that they never were converted to CD, much less SA-CD), starting with Hot Cargo, a 1956 release that put her on the map here in the States. Prior to that, this native Houstonian made her living in Europe and Scandanavia just as many other American jazz greats had after WWII.
Despite Ms Anderson's ability to perform as well as several of her contemporaries -- Billie, Sarah, Ella & Dinah, just to name a few -- she never quite received the recognition that she should have. Like Billie, she sings from the heart; like Sarah, she's capable of tremendous range; she can scat as well as Ella and pick a song that will move those who hear her just as Dinah could. Some of her best work appeared during her recording reappearance at Concord Jazz, but Never Make Your Move Too Soon isn't among them. If this is your only exposure to Ernestine Anderson, then you haven't yet heard how she can pull you into her performances.
In my opinion, there are at least four other recordings that Ms Anderson did for Concord that would have been better licensing choices for Groove Note, and at least three of those four offered better sound overall. This title doesn't offer the kind of dedication to the song that I am accustomed to hearing from her, and I came to that conclusion back in 1981 when I first heard this album. Jazz musicians often refer to this lack of interest in a recording they are doing as "phoning it in." Most often, this phrase is meant to suggest that the recording was made just to satisfy the demands of a recording contract. I hear this rather decidedly on this album. If you like the Norah Jones approach to singing, you will like this album.
Nearly all of Ms Anderson's albums were recorded with the able assistance of one form or another of the Ray Brown Trio -- as this one is. In most of these instances, I find that both the singer and the musicians are having a good time, especially in the two recordings made at live events. Given that, my only plausible conclusion for the rather lethargic performances of everyone concerned is the somewhat mediocre selection of tunes for the album.
As for the sound quality, Phil Edwards, the original recording engineer, went crazy with the multi-miking. We've got mile-wide drums and pianos to deal with, giving us no sense whatsoever of a plausible sound stage. Adding insult to injury, Edwards decided that he needed to boost the treble a bit, so what we hear are are some not-so-pleasing cymbals darting out at the listener from everywhere.
If you really want to hear Ms Anderson sing her heart out, try any one of these other Concord Jazz releases:
Live at the Concord Jazz Festival - 1979 (CCD-4102)
Live at the Alley Cat (CCD-4336)
A Perfect Match (CCD-4357)
From Concord to London (CCD-4054)
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