Although she had an appealing voice and a softly swinging style,
Bev Kelly only recorded two jazz albums before sinking permanently into obscurity. On the CD reissue of her first Riverside date, the repertoire mostly deals with lost love and most of the songs are taken at slow-to-medium tempos. The supporting cast is impressive (pianist Jimmy Jones, guitarist
Kenny Burrell, bassist
Milt Hinton,
Roy Haynes,
Osie Johnson or Johnny Cresci on drums and occasionally trumpeter
Harry "Sweets" Edison or
Jerome Richardson on flute and tenor) and the songs are strong.
Kelly does a particularly good job on "My Ship," "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right out of My Life" and "Gloomy Sunday"; the latter is very much in
Billie Holiday's style. Fans of jazz singing would be well advised to check out this interesting set. ~ Scott Yanow