Every Day: Best of the Verve Years
Joe Williams has had something of a roller-coaster career. Even though he was singing with Coleman Hawkins, Lionel Hampton, and Andy Kirk in the '40s, he didn't really become a star until he recorded "Every Day I Have the Blues" with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1955. After several more hit singles, Williams left Basie in 1961 and enjoyed a comfortable if low-key career until 1987, when Verve Records raised his profile with a series of bestselling jazz albums in much the same way they resuscitated Shirley Horn's career. These two high points in the Williams catalog are mined for this delightful two-CD package.--Geoffrey Himes