Search - Beryl Booker :: 1946-1952

Beryl Booker

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 11/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first of what will probably amount to two CDs by Beryl Booker in the Chronological Classics series of her complete works. The disc contains her first session for Victor from 1946, a couple of sessions for Sittin' in With from 1949, and two Mercury dates from 1952; all of them are trio sessions except for one of the Mercurys which adds Budd Johnson and Don Elliott to the proceedings. Booker was a fine piano player and a pretty good singer, too - a handful of vocal tracks are included; she sings with a pleasing smoky voice. She puts a bluesy spin in her vocals on both the Gershwin standards SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME and THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME.



Most of the tunes here are ballads taken in slow tempo, and Booker plays in two distinct styles. One of them is similar to Erroll Garner's chordal approach (most evident on I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU, THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC, and I WISHED ON THE MOON), while the other is more single-noted where she plays notes off each other in distinct patterns (best displayed on MAN WITH A HORN, DON'T BLAME ME, and BUT BEAUTIFUL). This latter approach is rather unique and very attractive. Booker fell off the jazz radar screen after 1954, but these early recordings are very nice indeed.

"