Aside from the music-loving Japanese, few countries have been up to the task of compiling the irrepressible
Blossom Dearie. The British él label, however, offered a wonderful 2009 collection titled
Teach Me Tonight that, while not the perfect first choice, offers an excellent companion to her self-titled 1957 debut (one of the best vocal LPs of its era). Included here are the complete contents of her second and third albums,
Give Him the Ooh-La-La and
Once Upon a Summertime, recorded at a pair of two-day sessions in early 1957 and 1958, respectively (oddly, the later date appears first). Verve head
Norman Granz featured
Dearie in her ideal setting, a small and tight rhythm section including, variously,
Ray Brown on bass,
Herb Ellis or
Mundell Lowe on guitar, and
Ed Thigpen or
Jo Jones on drums. Although her debut remains the gold standard for
Blossom Dearie LPs, these two are close competition, with
Dearie providing her eccentric and intriguing interpretations of increasingly shopworn standards. As a bonus, the 25th track is a 1952 version of "Moody's Mood for Love," recorded with
James Moody himself. ~ John Bush