Dedicated to You
Ray Charles's decision to cut an album of duets with then-rising jazz singer Betty Carter defines the phrase "unerring instinct." Charles responds to Carter's gorgeous voice and compelling melodic changes with some of his softest singing; you might say that this already masterful conduit of emotion got in touch with his feminine side on this 1961 date. The opening and closing cuts of the girls'-names theme albumDedicated to You, another '61 LP that fills out this 78-minute disc, demonstrate Brother Ray's touch for transforming unlikely material into expressions of his own funky essence. His amused big-band celebrations of "Hardhearted Hannah" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" sit alongside sublime portraits of "Stella by Starlight" and "Ruby" on an underappreciated set that's a perfect match for the Charles-Carter sides.--Rickey Wright