Dinah Washington's final four years of recordings (1959-63) were purely commercial. Even her mannerisms and phrasing leaned closer to middle-of-the-road pop than to her roots in jazz and blues. For this so-so Roulette CD,
Washington interprets standards and current pop tunes in very predictable fashion. Everything has the impression of being planned in advance and the accompanying orchestra (arranged by
Don Costa) is quite anonymous. Pass on this and get
Dinah Washington's earlier jazz sides instead.