Lee Wiley

Lee Wiley was the first jazz singer to record a full album (eight songs in the '78' days) dedicated to the music of one composer; her "songbooks" preceded Ella Fitzgerald's by more than 15 years. The greatest recordings of her career were these four projects, the first two of which are on this Audiophile reissue. Wiley, who had an introverted and quietly straightforward yet sensuous (and somewhat smoldering) style, is heard singing eight songs apiece by the Gershwins and Cole Porter. Her accompaniment includes all-star groups headed by pianist Joe Bushkin and trumpeter Max Kaminsky (which include tenor-saxophonist Bud Freeman, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell and on four songs Fats Waller), a quartet with Bushkin and trumpeter Bunny Berigan, and Paul Weston's Orchestra. Wiley's renditions of such songs as "How Long Has This Been Going On," "I've Got A Crush On You," "Someone To Watch Over Me," "Let's Do It" and "Easy To Love" are both memorable and haunting. This reissue is a gem as is the followup Audiophile release of Rodgers & Hart and Harold Arlen songs. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide