Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Blossom Dearie
I've been going to callback interviews this week and next. This means I've been wandering around new parts of downtown Chicago, checking out famous buildings and trying to spot new places of interest.
Yesterday I stumbled upon Jazz Record Mart. Beki actually pointed it out on the Internet over the weekend while searching for places to buy Ropeadope shirts. But my ending up there yesterday was a complete accident. It was the kind of revelation that only a metropolis can bring. It's a gigantic store with nothing but jazz. Mostly cds, but plenty of records, too. I was overwhelmed. I sought out a manageable category and settled on vocals. It was daunting, with hundreds, maybe thousands, of discs, but that was better than most of the other sub genres.
I didn't have a system, so I just wandered up and down the aisle, hoping something would catch my eye. I was looking to avoid names I was familiar with. I spotted singer named Blossom Dearie. The cover was a recreation of the original record cover, with Blossom donning short blond hair and a stripped black and white beatnik shirt. She sat with her elbows on a the back of her chair, fists shoved into her cheeks, flashing an awkward sort of smile.
I picked it up and realized it was a Verve reprint of a 1957 album. I didn't know anything about Blossom, but the back indicated she was an expat to France and was involved in the Blue Stars, with whom I am familiar. I also noticed that she has a bebop piano record and played on this record, Give him the ooh-la-la. What more could I ask for?
I'm listening now and I'm not disappointed. She's got a great voice and her style is as playful as her photo. The band is sold and her playing is good, but it's definitely a vocal record. She sings a bunch of stuff that was new in the late 50's and never really became standards. But she makes the songs shine, and her version of Porter's "Just One of those Things" is different than usual and awfully good.
I'll be heading back to the Mart in the near future, now I just have to figure out how not to go broke.
Yesterday I stumbled upon Jazz Record Mart. Beki actually pointed it out on the Internet over the weekend while searching for places to buy Ropeadope shirts. But my ending up there yesterday was a complete accident. It was the kind of revelation that only a metropolis can bring. It's a gigantic store with nothing but jazz. Mostly cds, but plenty of records, too. I was overwhelmed. I sought out a manageable category and settled on vocals. It was daunting, with hundreds, maybe thousands, of discs, but that was better than most of the other sub genres.
I didn't have a system, so I just wandered up and down the aisle, hoping something would catch my eye. I was looking to avoid names I was familiar with. I spotted singer named Blossom Dearie. The cover was a recreation of the original record cover, with Blossom donning short blond hair and a stripped black and white beatnik shirt. She sat with her elbows on a the back of her chair, fists shoved into her cheeks, flashing an awkward sort of smile.
I picked it up and realized it was a Verve reprint of a 1957 album. I didn't know anything about Blossom, but the back indicated she was an expat to France and was involved in the Blue Stars, with whom I am familiar. I also noticed that she has a bebop piano record and played on this record, Give him the ooh-la-la. What more could I ask for?
I'm listening now and I'm not disappointed. She's got a great voice and her style is as playful as her photo. The band is sold and her playing is good, but it's definitely a vocal record. She sings a bunch of stuff that was new in the late 50's and never really became standards. But she makes the songs shine, and her version of Porter's "Just One of those Things" is different than usual and awfully good.
I'll be heading back to the Mart in the near future, now I just have to figure out how not to go broke.
# posted by Justin @ 1:12 PM 
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