Chris Connor

180-gram VIRGIN VINYL

550 COPIES ONLY

THE COMPLETE ALBUM + 2 BONUS TRACKS

Chris Connor was among the most celebrated female jazz vocalists in the 1950s. Her interpretations of ballads, on which she frequently altered the rhythm in unusual ways, were truly unique. Billboard reported in 1955 that Connor’s first two solo 10-inch albums, Sings Lullabys of Birdland and Sings Lullabys for Lovers (the latter featured here), ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the jazz chart for the week ending April 23, 1955. The aforementioned 10-inch album is complemented here with nine George Gershwin ballads taken from a brilliant series of 1957 sessions, on which she is backed by such jazz luminaries as Milt Jackson, Herbie Mann, Joe Newman, Oscar Pettiford, and Mundell Lowe, among many others.

PERSONNEL:

• ON TRACKS A1-A8:
• Ronnie Odrich (fl, cl), Don Burns (accordion), Joe Cinderella (g), Vinnie Burke (b), Art Mardigan (d).
• New York, August 21, 1954.

• ON TRACKS B1-B3:
• Ralph Sharon (p, arr), Oscar Pettiford (b), Osie Johnson (d).
• New York, February 26, 1957.

• ON TRACKS B4-B5 & B7:
• Milt Jackson (vib), Stan Free (p), Mundell Lowe (g), Milt Hinton (b), Ed Shaughnessy (d).
• New York, May 1, 1957.

• ON TRACK B6:
• Herbie Mann (fl, as), Ralph Sharon (p, celeste, arr), Barry Galbraith (g), Oscar Pettiford (b), Ronnie Free (d).
• New York, February 7, 1957.V

• ON TRACKS B8:
• Joe Newman (tp), Al Cohn (ts), Eddie Costa (vib), Ralph Sharon (p, arr), Milt Hinton (b), Osie Johnson (d).
• New York, February 1, 1957.

• ON TRACK B9:
• Doc Severinsen (tp), Eddie Bert (tb), Al Cohn (ts), Danny Bank (bar), Stan Free (p), Mundell Lowe (g), Wendell Marshall (b), Ed Shaughnessy (d), Ray Ellis (arr).
• New York, April 24, 1957.

• (*) BONUS TRACKS:
• A9: Chris Connor (vc), Stan Free (p), Mundell Lowe (g), George Duvivier (b), Ed Shaughnessy (d).
• New York, May 23, 1958.

• B10: Chris Connor (vc), Herbie Mann (fl), Ralph Sharon (p), Joe Puma (g), Milt Hinton (b), Osie Johnson (d).
• New York, April, 1955.

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. LUSH LIFE
• A2. OUT OF THIS WORLD
• A3. COTTAGE FOR SALE
• 4A. HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?
• A5. GOODBYE
• A6. STELLA BY STARLIGHT
• A7. GONE WITH THE WIND
• A8. HE’S COMING HOME
• A9. MOONLIGHT IN VERMONT (*)

• SIDE B
• B1. THE MAN I LOVE
• B2. ’S WONDERFUL
• B3. A FOGGY DAY
• B4. I CAN’T BE BOTHERED NOW
• B5. EMBRACEABLE YOU
• B6. (I’VE GOT) BEGINNER’S LUCK
• B7. SOMEBODY LOVES ME
• B8. I’VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU
• B9. OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
• B10. ALL DRESSED UP WITH A BROKEN HEART