Dinah!

Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington's discography has two clearly delineated sides: This and other casual jazz records she made with small combos in the 1950s, and the more elaborate titles that followed her 1959 crossover move (and biggest hit) What a Difference a Day Makes.

The lavish studio sides are pleasant, but to encounter Washington at her peak, seek out the early stuff. Dinah!, recorded in 1955, is an excellent place to begin exploring this emotional cyclone of a singer, who was married seven times and struggled openly with her weight (she died, at age thirty-nine, after ingesting a mix of diet pills and alcohol). Though the lure throughout is Washington's crisp delivery, she gets plenty of help: Hal Mooney's hip horn charts are cut from the Sinatra swing book, and on the slower numbers, the strings are refreshingly unobtrusive. Listen as the alert backing trio (pianist Wynton Kelly, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Keeter Betts) lures the singer into extravagant slow-motion wails, or, just as frequently, provides a firm anchor for her raw, perpetually wounded ballad persona, and you'll hear how great instrumentalists can inspire a singer. The trio practically forces Washington to dig deep and give her all. And she does. Among this set's definitive performances are a fetchingly bluesy "All of Me," and a simultaneously poised and fiery treatment of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."

Genre: Jazz, Vocals
Released: 1956, EmArcy (Reissued 1991, Verve.)
Key Tracks: "All of Me," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "A Cottage for Sale"
Catalog Choice: What a Difference a Day Makes
Next Stop: Marlena Shaw: Marlena
After That: Betty Carter: The Audience with Betty Carter
Book Pages: 847–848

Share this page:

Comments:

Post a Comment:

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


Note that your comment will be reviewed by an editor before it appears on the site.


About 1,000 Recordings

Celebrate the joy, the revelation, the mystery, the fun, the sheer shivers-up-the-spine pleasure of great music.

Essential operas. Milestone rock albums. An education in the blues. The world of world. Classical from Bach to Bartók to Beethoven to Brahms. And dozens of unexpected gems, surprising discoveries, and long-lost masterpieces.

This is an online version of the list (published alphabetically in the book). The entries in the book break down genre bias and broaden every listener’s horizons—think Miles Davis to Claude Debussy to the melodic story-songs of The Decemberists. And the writing is passionate, informed, opinionated.

More about the book

site design: Juxtaprose