Dinah Washington
's first solo recordings (with the exception of a session supervised by
Lionel Hampton
in 1943) are included on this
Delmark
repackaging of her
Apollo
sides. Recorded in Los Angeles during a three-day period, the 12 selections feature the singer with a swinging jazz combo that has tenor-saxophonist
Lucky Thompson
, trumpeter
Karl George
, vibraphonist
Milt Jackson
and bassist
Charles Mingus
among its eight members. The 21-year-old
Washington
was already quite distinctive at this early stage and easily handles the blues and jive material with color and humor. Recommended despite the brevity (34 minutes) of the CD. ~ Scott Yanow