Unforgettable
A great voice might be defined by its range or pitch, but for a great torch singer like Dinah Washington, it's an astonishing sense of presence, the ability to convey complex emotional states with a startling intimacy. The songs on this 1961 release focus on love, and they're distinguished by Washington's ability to mingle loss and resignation with the promise of the future and a steely determination to make it happen. Ultimately Washington's art is the romance of experience itself, its enduring truths and possibilities etched in her unforgettable voice.--Stuart Broomer