DINAH WASHINGTON - Compact Jazz (1987) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Not quite as fine as Sarah Vaughan's Compact Jazz disc, this Verve roundup still nicely frames Dinah Washington's stay at the label with a fetching array of her best cuts from the '50s and early '60s. Taking in some of Washington's best-known pop songs ("What a Difference a Day Makes"), the disc touches on her excellent Fats Waller ("Keepin' out of Mischief Now") and Bessie Smith ("Backwater Blues") songbooks, while also including something from a fiery live date with Clifford Brown ("I've Got You Under My Skin"). And this is not to forget a handful of finely gauged readings of such perennials as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Easy Living," and "I Could Write a Book." Topped off with fine support by a bevy of top players, Compact Jazz: Dinah Washington makes for the ideal introductory disc. Stephen Cook
Tracklist :
1     What a Diff'rence a Day Made 2'29
Stanley Adams / María Mendez Grever
2    I Could Write a Book 4'23
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
3     Make Me a Present of You 2'49
Joe Greene
4     Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 3'21
Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern    
5     I Want to Be Loved 2'41
Savannah Churchill    
6     Manhattan 4'16
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers    
7     I've Got You Under My Skin 5'20
Cole Porter    
8     I Remember Clifford 2'34
Benny Golson    
9     Unforgettable 2'41
Irving Gordon    
10     Easy Living 4'57
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin    
11     Backwater Blues 4'42
Huddie Ledbetter / Bessie Smith    
12     If I Were a Bell 2'04
Frank Loesser    
13     Teach Me Tonight 2'44
Sammy Cahn / Gene DePaul    
14     Keepin' Out of Mischief Now 2'37
Andy Razaf / Fats Waller    
15     All of Me 5'21
Gerald Marks / Seymour Simons    
16     This Bitter Earth 2'25
Clyde Otis