Of the six recordings
Blossom Dearie
did for the
Verve
label in the '50s,
Give Him the Ooh-La-La
is the third one to be released on CD. Three titles still remain in the vaults including a
Betty Comden
and
Johnny Green
tribute as well as a
Broadway Hits
collection. It's a shame because
Dearie
's girlishly dynamic voice, subtle piano playing, and rarified choice of contemporary material made her recordings unique among '50s jazz vocal outings.
is no exception, with stellar backing by regular bassist
Ray Brown
, drummer
Jo Jones
and guitarist
Herb Ellis
, and
's taut arrangements of a set of glowing ballads and brisk swingers. Included are a few well-worn standards like
"Just One of Those Things"
"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea."
More intriguing, however, are
's inclusion of obscure titles like
Cy Coleman
's
"The Riviera,"
a tongue and cheek portrait of Europe's playground, as well as his
"I Walk a Little Faster."
Additionally, there's the gently executed and innocuous self-help number
"Try Your Wings,"
a bouncy
"The Middle of Love,"
and a nod to her club stint in Paris with the French tune
"Plus Je T'Embrasse."
As usual, both
's piano and voice are instilled with impeccable playfulness on mischievous numbers like the title track and in the tender pathos of ballads such as
"Like Someone in Love."
Like
's two other available titles
Once Upon a Summertime
,
features a great collection of tunes from the high point of her recording career. The dilemma is not which recording to get, but where to start. ~ Stephen Cook