MILDRED BAILEY - 1943-1945 {CC, 1316} (2003) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Most of Mildred Bailey's recordings have been reissued, but this CD is particularly special. With the exception of the final four songs, all of the music was originally out on fairly rare V-discs, making this a strong addition to swing and vocal jazz fans' collections. Bailey was one of the most distinctive singers of the 1930s and '40s and she was at the peak of her powers during the World War II years. Particularly worthy are the first four selections (including an extended version of "Rockin' Chair") in which she is accompanied by pianist Teddy Wilson. "Squeeze Me" is taken from the Esquire All-American concert of 1944. There are three songs in which Bailey is joined by a sextet led by her husband vibraphonist Red Norvo (clarinetist Aaron Sachs is in good form), ten songs on which Bailey is accompanied by Paul Baron's orchestra, a heated version of "Dinah" with Wilson and trumpeter Charlie Shavers, and the final studio date with a nonet. In addition to the first version of "Rockin' Chair," other highlights include "Sunday, Monday or Always," "More Than You Know," "Downhearted Blues," "From the Land of the Sky Blue Water," and "I'm Glad There Is You." Recommended. Scott Yanow  
Tracklist :
1     Rockin' Chair 4'37
Hoagy Carmichael
2     Sunday, Monday or Always 3'53
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen     
3     Scrap Your Fat 4'28
Johnny Burke
4     More Than You Know 3'08
Edward Eliscu / Billy Rose / Vincent Youmans
5     Squeeze Me 2'46
Fats Waller / Clarence Williams    
6     Someday, Sweetheart 3'47
Benjamin Franklin Spikes / John Spikes
7     Downhearted Blues 5'10
Lovie Austin / Alberta Hunter
8     Hold On 2'52
Hall Johnson / J. Johnson
9     Hold on, Keep Your Hand on the Plow 3'12
Traditional    
10     Summertime 2'55
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
11     Right as the Rain 3'36
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
12     From the Land of the Sky Blue Water 2'32
Charles Wakefield Cadman / Nelle Richmond Eberhart
13     The Love I Long For 1'45
Howard Dietz / Vernon Duke    
14     Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 3'34
Traditional    
15     Dinah 3'20
Harry Akst / Sam M. Lewis / Joe Young
16     Which of the Great Forty-Eight 3'21
17     Wish You Were Waitin' for Me 3'46
Bob Russell / David Saxon
18     Rockin' Chair 2'16
Hoagy Carmichael
19     Honeysuckle Rose 2'04
Andy Razaf / Fats Waller
20     The Man I Love 3'05
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
21     The Gypsy in My Soul 2'50
Clay Boland / Moe Jaffe
22     I'm Glad There Is You 3'04
Jimmy Dorsey / Paul Madeira
23     It's Never Too Late to Pray 2'52
Jerry Livingston / Willard Robison