All the Sad Young Men
From her days withGene KrupaandStan Kentonin the '40s, Anita O'Day was a genuine jazz singer who could make the most of a big-band date. This 1961 recording pairs her with arrangerGary McFarland, who was just beginning to demonstrate his talent for creating constantly shifting backdrops filled with unexpected rhythmic figures and voicings. The title song and Willard Robson's "A Woman Alone with the Blues" gain orchestral dimension from McFarland's writing, while he's able to put his own stamp onEllington's "Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me." The songs are well-chosen vehicles for O'Day, a singer capable of both bemused irony and emotional directness, with the diction for Broadway lyrics and a facility for inventive scat singing. "Boogie Blues" updates an early O'Day hit with Gene Krupa's band, whileAl Cohn's "Night Bird" andHorace Silver's "Senor Blues" are unusual in being big-band vocal treatments of bop tunes. The band is terrific, and altoistPhil Woodsand guitarist Barry Galbraith make particularly good solo contributions. O'Day's vocals were overdubbed at separate sessions. It may add to the vocal presence, and given her scat exchange with Willie Dennis's trombone on "Up State," it seems to take nothing away from her involvement in the band. --Stuart Broomer