The Classics volume on Anita O'Day covering 1945 through 1950 takes her through the first five years of her solo career - after her breakout with Gene Krupa (and "Let Me Off Uptown"), but before the immense success of her Verve years. The only hit present is the bright novelty "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip," but fortunately O'Day didn't record many castoffs then; instead, par for the course during the late '40s was her bluesy romp version of "What Is This Thing Called Love?," another Cole Porter tune recorded at the same session. Her sweetly swinging versions of "Them There Eyes" and "I Told Ya I Love You, Now Get Out" are excellent, and the backing includes high-caliber musicians Benny Carter, Dave Barbour, and pianist/arranger Ralph Burns.

Compilations abound that center on Anita O'Day's work of the '40s and early '50s, before she set about recording one of the liveliest string of LPs ever seen on the planet (from 1955's This Is Anita to 1962's That Is Anita). With 1950-1952, the seminal Classics label reissued a string of titles that haven't seen light very often, a selection of her recordings for labels including London, Clef, and Norgran (the last two were Verve-associated labels). While they stand nowhere near the twin pinnacles of her career - her big-band heyday and her solo revival yet to come - O'Day recorded much wonderful music during these two years. In 1952 alone, she recorded three excellent sessions (the final two-thirds of the program), including a swinging date with her Krupa bandmate Roy Eldridge in New York and a sublime Chicago appearance with Roy Kral.

Anita O'Day celebrated her 50th year as a professional singer at Carnegie Hall on Friday evening with a program that reviewed her big-band years with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton and her work with small groups over the past 30 years.
Miss O'Day was relaxed and casually high-spirited, cutting through the formality that a performance in Carnegie Hall suggests.
And when she and Roy Eldridge remembered what they once did with ''Let Me Off Uptown'' with Gene Krupa's band, they both showed that the spirit that created that performance was still there, even though Mr. Eldridge now only sings his part and no longer blows the crackling trumpet he once did since a heart attack five years ago forced him to give it up…

In 1993 the Giants of Jazz label released a collection drawing upon seven different Verve albums by Anita O'Day (1919-2006), a skilled and at times somewhat formidable vocalist who had the kind of chops and temperament usually associated with trumpeters, drummers, and booking agents. Recorded in early December 1955, "Honeysuckle Rose" first appeared on the album This Is Anita; technically speaking, this track falls outside of this collection's stated timeframe of 1956-1962. "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "Don't Be That Way" come from Pick Yourself Up, an LP that took almost all of 1956 to create. "Star Eyes" as well as tracks one through seven were taken from Anita O'Day Sings the Winners, a 1958 release that found her backed by a somewhat slick orchestra under the direction of Russ Garcia. Anita O'Day seems to have spent a lot of time in the recording studios during April 1959; during that month she made a Cole Porter album with Billy May (cuts 13 through 21) and collaborated with Jimmy Giuffre on the Cool Heat album, from which "Hershey Bar" was extracted. During 1962 this stunning woman made an LP with Gene Harris and the Three Sounds (see track eight "Whisper Not") and teamed up with vibraphonist Cal Tjader on the marvelous Time for Two album, the source for her rendition of Dave Frishberg's pleasantly smutty opus, "Peel Me a Grape."

Spontaneous, engaging, joyful, this recording perfectly captured all that made Anita O'Day one of the best jazz singers of all time. This particular disc is also an excellent representation of her club work backed by a quartet led by her long time soul mate and drummer, John Poole. Poole was tremendously talented, his brush work was as good as I have ever heard, sympathetic, energetic and at times explosive he nevertheless knew how to stay out of the limelight and allow the incomparable O'Day to strut her stuff. Anita's presentation, led by an uncanny sense of timing, will make appreciative listeners sit on the edge of their chairs. Her interaction with the microphone, her audience, and her fellow musicians on this recording are captivating. Listen to how she plays with the words and wonder at how she did this night after night for years and years and never lost her sense of joy. Wonderful stuff.

One of the greatest of all female American jazz singers, Anita O'Day shattered the typical "girl singer" stereotype and presented herself instead as a hip jazz musician, and her skills in improvisation cemented her stature among the pioneers of be-bop and the West Coast "cool" school. Presented here is O'Day's classic 1978 album, "There's Only One" featuring Billy Webb (guitar); Al Bruno (guitar); Ed Holtz (piano); Silvio Tucciarone (steel guitar); Johnny Greer (drums) and Eddie Jo Downs (bass). All selections newly remastered.

Yet another raer gem by the late Anita O' Day from her "Skylark" recording which was found in the summer of 2006 while searching for footage for the documentary "Anita O'Day Life of a jazz Singer. Tracks 1-10 were recorded on June 15, 1978 live at Club Sometime in Tokyo, Japan. The extra 7 bonus tracks "Rock and Roll Rag", "Come Rain Or Shine", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Sunny" "Walk On By" and "That's Love" makes buying this CD all the more worth it, and for the Anita O'Day fan, will be a welcome addtion to their collection. This CD captures Anita during the late 70's where she was still going strong.

A solid album by vocalist Anita O'Day that was done in the mid-'70s, but was initially only available in Japan. She subsequently released it on her own label, but it's still not seen widespread distribution and may be tough to find. Her voice was once again in vivid, expressive form after her successful battle with drug and alcohol problems.

At 55 Anita O'Day was having a bit of a renaissance, having kicked drugs and become more active in the 1970s. This live in Japan set (reissued on CD by Evidence) finds the singer stretching out on nine numbers ("Gone with the Wind" is nearly 11 minutes long) and carefully choosing a tune or two from each of six decades (1920s to the '70s). Of the latter "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life" and Leon Russell's "A Song for You" (given a definitive treatment) are effective; other highlights include "Undecided," "I Get a Kick out of You" and "Opus One." This is one of O'Day's best recordings of the 1970s.

It is extremely difficult for a vocalist to hide his or her age while singing. Anita O'Day, 69 at the time of this recording, no longer sounded like she had in 1959, but this was actually her best all-around set in several years. O'Day still retained her highly appealing phrasing and most of her range; she still took chances (her version of "I Cried for You" is a good example), and she sounded happy to be alive, having beaten the odds. Gordon Brisker's creative arrangements for the backup group (which consists of his tenor and flute, pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Brian Bromberg, drummer Frank Capp, percussionist Dave Black, and on a few songs the harp of Corky Hale) allow room for plenty of concise solos. On "Anita's Blues," one can almost feel the years dropping away as O'Day hints at her recordings from the 1940s. This fine CD is definitive of Anita O'Day's later years and worth investigating.

One in a string of six albums that jazz vocalist Anita O'Day made while performing in Japan during the mid-'70s. These were done as she was returning to the stage after a bout with drugs and alcohol. This was also issued on her own label.
Few female singers matched the hard-swinging Anita O'Day for sheer exuberance and skill in all areas of jazz vocals: her splendid improvising, wide range, dynamic tone, and innate sense of rhythm made her one of the most enjoyable singer of the age. O'Day's first appearances in a big band shattered the traditional image of a demure female vocalist by swinging just as hard as the other musicians on the bandstand, best heard on her vocal trading with Roy Eldridge on the Gene Krupa recording "Let Me Off Uptown"…

From a label with no shortage of first-rate jazz material come this very attractive vocal sampler. Staying true to the Compact Jazz ethos, Best of the Jazz Vocalists favors quality over hits and comes with a budget price tag. The majority of songs are from the label's prime '50s and '60s run, including a cloud-bound "Summertime" by Helen Merrill and one of the all-time great versions of "If You Could See Me Now," compliments of Billy Eckstine. Continuing with this balancing act between the sexes, the collection also includes fine work by Bill Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Abbey Lincoln, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, and Anita O'Day; latter-day entries include Lincoln's "I've Got Thunder and It Rings" from her 1990 Verve debut and Horn's "I Got Lost in His Arms" from 1988's Close Enough for Love. Nicely wrapped up with Nina Simone's Afro-percussion clarion call "Come Ye," this Verve roundup works as the perfect primer for more adventurous trips through the label's fertile stores of essential jazz.

Here is Anita O'Day in excellent vocal form joining forces with Billy May, one of the most prolific arrangers of the Hollywood recording studios in the 50s and 60s. To back her, May led three big-sized groups staffed by top musicians, and provided the swinging, tasteful charts in these two excellent albums dedicated to the songbooks of Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hart. Miss O'Day treats this handful of great evergreen songs in her usual compelling manner and with innate musicianship. She was gifted with a wide vocal range and a level head: that is to say, she sang smoothly without panic or strain at either extreme of her range, and remained consistently impressive in projection, phrasing, and flexibility. There is much to groove within this set and, be it for pop or jazz fans, listening to this great singer is sure to be an incomparable musical pleasure.

This album is definitely a transitional one for Anita O'Day. Four of the dozen performances are taken from June 1963. Her trio joins the singer on four of her "hits" ("Sweet Georgia Brown," "Boogie Blues," "Tea for Two" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"), which were O'Day's final recordings until 1970 due to personal problems. The remainder of this set is from 1975-76, with several trios backing O'Day on a repertoire dominated by swing standards. Although her voice was not as young, O'Day was still in good form at that point, making this album a worthwhile acquisition for her fans.