OPEN POST: Music Manor Monday With Ernestine Anderson!
Greetings, music hors, and welcome to another hotsy-totsy edition of Music Manor Monday, where we share music - old or new - that we've been enjoying lately. For his part, DJ Li'l Scratch will be at the Manor's "Liquor in the Front" lounge tonight, spinning tunes by a jazz and blues legend who thrilled audiences over the span of an incredible six decade career. Can you guess who?
Yes, it's Ernestine Anderson, who burst onto the scene in 1958 with her sensational LP, "Hot Cargo," which introduced a distinctive and gifted singer equal to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Yet time has not been kind to Ernestine, and though she's not forgotten, by any means, she certainly deserves more notice than she receives nowadays.
By the way - and I swear I’ll bring this back around to Ernestine - I love hearing great performers live, don't you? Even though there's always a few imperfections here or there, you get a deeper feel for what their songs really mean to them, and how they work up their audiences as they put them across. Some seduce you with crackling sophistication, like Sarah Vaughn, others wear their hearts on their sleeves, like Judy Garland. Ernestine Anderson? She throws thunderbolts.
Did you know? Her 1977 LP, "Live From Concord To London," is included in several of those magazine articles entitled "Jazz Albums You Must Listen To Before You Die!" or words to that effect. Which is one way of saying that's it's not just good, but wowza-good.
Ernestine pretty much laid them flat during this live set. For modern ears, she's probably one of the more accessible "classic" jazz singers out there, but that doesn't take away from what she's doing here. By making simple, emotionally direct vocal choices, then boldly magnifying them, she speaks to everyone. It's an approach that's virtually out-of-style - every singer these days seems to overcompensate with distracting honks and wails (it's like you're being ambushed by a flock of hellish birds) - so when you hear it done right, as Ernestine does here, it can sound like the freshest thing you've ever heard.
Yet as much as I love "Concord," I love her 2011 album, "Nightlife: Live At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola," even more. I think it has something to do with the sound of experience in her voice. Her delivery conveys not just every emotion in the lyric, but almost her entire life history - from the blues records she listened to as a child, to the gospel choirs she sang with, to all the jazz and swing bands she performed with throughout her life. She was in her early 80s when "Nightlife" was recorded and sounds magnificent.
What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾
Photo Credits: Getty Images; Concord Jazz; HighNote Records
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