ETTA JONES - Hollar! (1962-2001) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Etta Jones had the spark that made each of her vocals special, though she was never acknowledged properly during a long career. Following her hit "Don't Go to Strangers," she continued to record first-rate songs. Many of her albums were unjustly out of print for decades, though Hollar! was finally reissued by Fantasy as part of their Original Jazz Classics series in 2001. Jones is backed by three separate groups on this release. Guitarist Wally Richardson provides the driving rhythm to back her swinging take of "And the Angels Sing," while vibraphonist Lem Winchester and pianist Richard Wyands support Jones in her emotional rendition of "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)." Jones would eventually return to the brisk bop gem "Reverse the Charges" decades after this recording, but this early version is preferable, with a nice interlude by pianist Jimmy Neely. There's a bit of friendly conversation in the studio as Jones gets underway with another swinger, "Our Love Is Here to Stay," adding a boisterous tenor sax solo by Oliver Nelson. This is easily one of Etta Jones' best recordings. by Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1     And the Angels Sing 2:37
Ziggy Elman / Johnny Mercer
2     I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) 4:11
Duke Ellington / Paul Francis Webster
3     Give Me the Simple Life 2:54
Rube Bloom / Harry Ruby
4     The More I See You 4:13
Mack Gordon / Harry Warren
5     Love Is Here to Stay 3:49
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
6     Reverse the Charges 2:59
Paul Francis Webster / Clarence Williams
7     They Can't Take That Away from Me 2:52
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
8     Answer Me My Love 3:20
Fred Rauch / Carl Sigman / Gerhard Winkler
9     Looking Back 3:44
Brook Benton / Belford Hendricks / Clyde Otis
10     Nature Boy 2:55
Eden Ahbez
Credits :
Bass – Ernest Hayes (faixas: 10), George Duvivier (faixas: 2, 4, 5, 7), Michael Mulia* (faixas: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9)
Drums – Bobby Donaldson (faixas: 10), Roy Haynes (faixas: 2, 4, 5, 7), Rudy Lawless (faixas: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9)
Guitar – Bucky Pizzarelli (faixas: 10), Kenny Burrell (faixas: 10), Wally Richardson (faixas: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9)
Piano – Jimmy Neeley (faixas: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9), Richard Wyands (faixas: 2, 4, 5, 7)
Tenor Saxophone – Jerome Richardson (faixas: 10), Oliver Nelson (faixas: 2, 4, 5, 7)
Vibraphone – Lem Winchester (faixas: 2, 4, 5, 7)

ETTA JONES - Lonely and Blue (1962-1992) RM / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Singer Etta Jones often recalls late-period Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington on her CD reissue of Lonely and Blue. The first 11 songs find her accompanied by tenor-saxophonist Budd Johnson on four of the songs, guitarist Wally Richardson on seven, and the Patti Bown Trio throughout; the final three numbers (bonus tracks), are actually from a date led by tenor great Gene Ammons and are among the highlights of this set. But overall, despite some fine performances (particularly "You Don't Know My Mind" and "Trav'lin Light"), Jones' lack of individuality at that point in time makes this CD of less importance than her later sets for Muse. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     I'll Be There 2:55
Howard Cook
2     In the Dark 2:55
Lillian "Lil" Green
3     Out in the Cold Again 3:16
Bobby Bloom / Rube Bloom / Ted Koehler
4     I'm Pulling Through 3:37
Arthur Herzog, Jr. / Irene Kitchings
5     My Gentleman Friend 2:20
Arnold B. Horwitt / Richard Lewine
6     I Wonder 3:20
Cecil Gant / Budd Johnson / Raymond Leveen
7     You Don't Know My Mind 3:51
Clarence Williams    
8     Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You 3:09
Andy Razaf / Don Redman
9     Good-For-Nothin' Joe 3:50
Rube Bloom / Ted Koehler
10     I Miss You So 3:26
Jimmy Henderson / Sid Robin / Sydney Robin / Bertha Scott
11     Trav'lin' Light 3:43
Johnny Mercer / Jimmy Mundy / Trummy Young
- Bonus Tracks -
12     But Not for Me 4:28
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
13     If You're But a Dream 4:22
Nat Bonx / Jack Fulton / Moe Jaffe
14     Cool Cool Daddy 4:50
Traditional
Credits :
Bass – Art Davis (faixas: 3, 5, 8, 11), George Duvivier (faixas: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10)
Drums – Ed Shaughnessy
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Wally Richardson (faixas: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10)
Piano – Patti Bowen
Tenor Saxophone – Budd Johnson (faixas: 3, 5, 7, 10)
Vocals – Etta Jones

ETTA JONES - My Mother's Eyes (1977-2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although by the mid-1970s she had already been a professional singer for 30 years, Etta Jones was in reality just entering her musical prime. Having developed her individuality gradually through the years, she was heard at her very best during her long string of Muse recordings. On this fine date, Jones is joined by her husband (tenor saxophonist Houston Person) and an oversized rhythm section that features keyboardist Sonny Phillips and guitarist Jimmy Ponder. Among the highlights are "The Way You Look Tonight," "Don't Misunderstand," "You Do Something to Me" and "This Girl's In Love With Me." by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     The Way You Look Tonight 4:50
Dorothy Fields / Jerome Kern
2     Don't Misunderstand 6:12
Gordon Parks
3     Be My Love 5:50
Nicholas Brodszky / Sammy Kahn
4     You Do Something to Me 4:44
Cole Porter
5     My Mother's Eyes 5:49
Abel Baer / Louis Wolfe Gilbert
6     This Girl's in Love With You 3:59
Burt Bacharach / Hal David
7     Gloomy Sunday 4:38
László Jávor / Rezsö Seress
Credits :
Bass – Rufus Reid
Congas, Percussion – Lawrence Killian
Drums – Idris Muhammad
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Jimmy Ponder
Keyboards – Sonny Phillips
Producer, Tenor Saxophone – Houston Person
Vibraphone – George Devens
Vocals – Etta Jones 

ETTA JONES - Sugar (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Etta Jones' long string of recordings during the final part of her career for Muse and High Note are some of the most rewarding of her life. Her voice was naturally not as youthful as earlier and her range gradually shrunk, but she was very soulful and had a way of wailing out notes that made each song her own. On Sugar, the first four numbers have her joined by a rhythm section that is hurt slightly by Horace Ott's dated-sounding keyboards. The other four numbers have more suitable accompaniment by pianist Stan Hope. However tenor saxophonist Houston Person is a consistent force throughout and Etta Jones is heard in prime form on both dates. Notable highlights include vocal duets with Earl Coleman ("This Is Always") and Della Griffin ("Side by Side"). by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Sugar 4:36
S. Mitchell , E. Alexander , M. Pinkard   
2     So I Love You 6:02
J.C. Coates
3     That's All There Is to That 4:42
Clyde Otis / Kelly Owens
4     All the Way 6:18
Sammy Cahn / James Van Heusen
5     He's Funny That Way 4:20
Neil Moret (Chas. N. Daniels) / Richard A. Whiting
6     Blow Top Blues 5:55
Leonard Feather
7     This Is Always 5:07
Mack Gordon / Harry Warren
8     Side by Side 4:45
H. Woods
Vocals, Guest [Special Guest] – Della Griffin
Credits :
Arranged By [Arrangements], Keyboards – Horace Ott (faixas: 1 to 4)
Arranged By [Arrangements], Piano – Stan Hope (faixas: 5 to 8)
Bass – Peter Martin Weiss (faixas: 5 to 8), Wilbur Bascomb (faixas: 1 to 4)
Congas, Percussion – Ralph Dorsey
Drums – Bertel Knox (faixas: 5 to 8), Cecil Brooks III (faixas: 1 to 4)
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Randy Johnston
Producer, Tenor Saxophone – Houston Person
Vibraphone – George Devens
Vocals – Etta Jones

ETTA JONES - Don't Go to Strangers (1960-2006) RVG REMASTERS / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Don't Go to Strangers was Etta Jones' first album for the independent jazz label Prestige when it was released in 1960 (having been recorded in a single session on June 21 of that year), and although Jones had been releasing records since 1944, including a dozen sides for RCA in 1946 and an album for King Records in 1957, she was treated as an overnight sensation when the title tune from the album went gold, hitting the Top 40 on the pop charts and reaching number five on the R&B charts. An elegant ballad on an album that had several of them, including the masterful "If I Had You" and a marvelous reading of "All the Way," a song usually identified with Frank Sinatra, "Don't Go to Strangers" featured Jones' airy, bluesy phrasing and uncanny sense of spacing, and was very much a jazz performance, making its success on the pop charts all the more amazing. Listen to Jones' restructuring of the melody to the opening track, the old chestnut "Yes Sir, That's My Baby," to hear a gifted jazz singer sliding and shifting the tone center of a song like a veteran horn player, all the while leaving the melody still recognizable, but refreshing it until it stands revealed anew. Apparently there were no additional tracks cut at the session, since bonus material has never surfaced on any of the album's subsequent reissues, although that's hardly a problem, because as is, Don't Go to Strangers is a perfect gem of a recording. by Steve Leggett  
Tracklist:
1 Yes, Sir That's My Baby 4:23
Written-By – Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson
2 Don't Go To Strangers 3:51
Written-By – Arthur Kent, David Mann, Redd Evans
3 I Love Paris 4:01
Written-By – Cole Porter
4 Fine And Mellow 5:52
Written-By – Billie Holiday
5 Where Or When 3:41
Written-By – Rodgers & Hart
6 If I Had You 3:51
Written-By – James Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Ted Shapiro
7 On The Street Where You Live 3:45
Written-By – Al Lerner, Frederick Loewe
8 Something To Remember You By 3:45
Written-By – Schwartz & Dietz
9 Bye Bye Blackbird 3:16
Written-By – Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson
10 All The Way 4:39
Written-By – Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen
Credits:
Bass – George Duvivier
Drums – Roy Haynes
Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Frank Wess
Guitar – Skeeter Best
Piano – Richard Wyands
Recorded By [Recording] – Rudy Van Gelder
Vocals – Etta Jones

ETTA JONES - So Warm (1961-1996) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless