But Beautiful on Bonus Tracks
Product ID: 11625114
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Product Description 24-Bit Digitally Remastered (2 Lps On 1 Cd) + Bonus Tracks Includes 20-page booklet with session details, rare photos, memorabilia and extensive liner notes. Having gained considerable experience as the top singer with some of the biggest name bands in the country, Lucy Ann Polk (1927-2011) decided to quit the road after four successful years with the Les Brown band. Voted Best Girl Band Vocalist in Down Beat magazine s Readers Poll for four years in a row (1951-1954), she settled in her Los Angeles home, with her husband, trombonist Dick Noel. From then on she worked on casual singing TV and radio engagements, and appeared in several live performances mainly with the Dave Pell Octet. She had acquired a mature style of her own, much admired by both public and musicians. Her voice was not the penetrating instrument of other leading vocalists, but she was a warm and swinging singer. As these sides make abundantly clear, she found her own freedom, away from the constraints of the band setting, in singing backed by small groups like Pell s octet or Marty Paich s sextet and quartet. An independent soul, she was a lovely and talented singer, tellingly described by Les Brown s trumpeter and arranger Wes Hensel as one of the grooviest people who ever walked this earth. Review "Lucy Ann Polk's lone Mode session pairs the singer with a sextet led by pianist and arranger Marty Paich, whose nuanced, spacious orchestrations perfectly complement Polk's sultry yet supremely controlled style. The strength of Lucky Lucy Ann is its subtlety -- not a note is wasted or extraneous, and for all the modernist elements converging in Paich's arrangements, he never obscures the clarity of perennials like "Makin' Whoopee" and "Time After Time." Polk likewise shades the universal themes of the lyrics with a style and fierce intelligence all her own -- for all the power of her voice, it's her restraint that rings loudest and clearest." --Jason Ankeny (All Music Guide)
P**7
A great singer/A great recording
I don't understand why this 50's girl singer doesn't command more critical acclaim? Polk sings in a clear, sweet style that is sure to please. The original recordings and this remastering are well done with clean, natural sound. Come to think of it, this is a perfect example of the 1950's "golden age of recording". This level of natural sound seems to be a lost art. Even fine recording efforts by contemporary artists like Diana Krall and Tierney Sutton don't reach this level of refinement. Highly recommended not only for the sound quality but also for a great pop singer who stands tall with the great singers of that wonderful era.
D**N
Great listening!
I am really enjoying this CD. Velvet voice and great music!
B**N
Lucy Ann Polk could sing like crazy
Lucy Ann Polk could sing jazz as well as anybody. And she was backed here by Marty Paich, merely one of the best big band guys on the left coast. This record is a national treasure.
L**2
But Beautiful - A Beautiful Collection of Lucy Ann
I've been a huge fan of Lucy Ann for years & this is one of the best collections. If you're only going to buy one Lucy Ann Polk CD - this is the one to get!
A**N
A beautiful collection of Lucy Ann Polk's jazz vocal stylings
This CD is a collection of the eight Lucy Ann Polk songs found on the Dave Pell Octet Plays Burke & Van Heusen (there are sixteen tracks total, and she sings on eight of those tracks), and the twelve songs found on Lucky Lucy Ann (Lucky Lucy Ann was rereleased in 1959 as Easy Living). So, this is a definitive collection of the songs she recorded after her time with Kay Kyser, Tommy Dorsey, and Les Paul -- this twenty song collection covering the time from 1949 to 1954.This period really was the time Lucy Ann was most renowned and considered at her best, and this really is a fantastic collection of that work. Lucy Ann is so often overlooked as a jazz vocalist, and this is a collection that demonstrates why she shouldn't be overlooked. I'd really recommend this collection for anyone who loves jazz of the 1930's through the 1950's.
C**N
Obscure but oh so fine
What's not to like with this CD? The sound is very good. The arrangements are imaginative, low key, and focused on the vocals - Paich & Pell, you won't get much better arrangers for small groups. The musicians are some of the best on the West Coast of that era: both the ensemble work and the solos are finely done. This is a classy, emotionally honest, straight ahead recording. Polk reminds me of Rebecca Kilgore at times or rather Kilgore reminds me of Polk. Both singers have such sophisticated phrasing, rhythmic ease, and calm self-assurance that their recordings are a continual pleasure. Highly recommended.
L**.
Great Female Voice
Really enjoyed listening to this album. Would recommend.
A**ー
生ライブが観たかった！
ルーシーアン物はLP物から持っていましたが、気軽に聴けるCDも揃え始めたところです年代等は他の方にお譲りしますが、自宅で夜、シングルモルトのスコッチを呑みながら聴くと最高ですねホギーカーマイケルの「Memphis In June 」のスタジオとライブの2種類が聴けるのもいいです・・・目の前でライブが観たかったですね徒然に
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