Dinah Washington

The Music for Lovers series from EMI and Blue Note spotlights the balladic nature and romantic side of artists who have recorded for its associated labels. Dinah Washington, of course, was a superb ballad singer whose elegance brought a maximum of feeling to the standards she sang. Her Music for Lovers volume includes songs from some of the very last sessions she recorded, in 1962, with orchestras conducted by Don Costa. This period has more detractors than champions, but Washington's magnificence as a vocalist was clear on anything she ever recorded. The collection begins on a melancholy note with "Lover Man," and overall, balances the sweet with the bitter. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide