Teresa Brewer began her career as a novelty and pop vocalist but soon became one of the most respected jazz artists in the world. Some of the jazz world's most legendary musicians backing up Brewer on these live sets are Dizzy Gillespie, Cootie Williams, Grady Tate, Clark Terry, and Jon Faddis. Highlights include the swinging "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "St. Louis Blues," and "Mood Indigo."

Personnel includes: Teresa Brewer (vocals); Dizzy Gillespie (vocals, jews harp); Cootie Williams, Clark Terry (trumpet); Bucky Pizzarelli (acoustic guitar); Hiram Bullock (electric guitar); Derek Smith, Patrick Coil (piano);

Wilbur Bascomb, John Adams (bass); Andy Newmark, Grady Tate, Jeff Hamilton (drums).

Recorded live at Carnegie Hall,New York, New York and Montreux, Switzerland on April 5, 1978 and July 22, 1983.

Two previously unissued live concerts from 1978 and 1983 find Teresa in rare form, singing and swinging in front of big bands simply top-heavy with great players. Kicking off with a duet with Dizzy Gillespie on "It Don't Mean a Thing" (where Dizzy plays a Jew's harp funkier than any electronic gizmo you can think of), Brewer puts the torch to tunes like "After You've Gone," "St. Louis Blues," and a smoky medley of "It Had to Be You" and "I've Got a Crush on You." The Montreux set repeats many of the same tunes, but with Clark Terry in the fold, Teresa is recharged, and the different interpretations make for very interesting comparisons. Anyone who wants to file Brewer in the "pop singer" category only needs to hear her sink her formidable chops into this material with a hot band kicking behind her. ~ Cub Koda

Genre:

• Jazz

Labels:

• Collectables Records

Music Categories:

• Pop Vocal: Classic

Product Groupings:

• Clearance CDs
• Collectables Records - Audio CDs