[Dixielandjazz] Lee & Shearing

[Ed Danielson]

John Bush, writin in the All-music Guide (www.allmusic.com), has these 
comments:

"Upon its first release Beauty and the Beat! was billed as a live recording 
from a Miami convention of disc jockeys. Though Peggy Lee and George 
Shearing did in fact perform there (and attempts were made to record them 
for later release), the songs heard on the subsequent LP were recorded in 
the studio and overdubbed with rather obvious canned applause, 
announcements, and even post-production echo. Lee and Shearing, who had 
never recorded before, conceived a set of completely new arrangements that 
played to their strengths: stately blues and effervescent swing. The best of 
the former comes on a pair of locale-referencing quasi-blues, "I Lost My 
Sugar in Salt Lake City" and "You Came a Long Way From St. Louis," both of 
which Lee and Shearing are able to transform into languorous, respectable 
torch songs. The usually downcast "Blue Prelude" is actually taken at a 
laissez faire tempo that Lee treats well, and the original set ends with 
"Get Out of Town" and "Satin Doll," a pair of bemused, affectionate 
performances that perfectly suit the pair. Lee and Shearing's only 
collaboration on record — though both would occasionally perform together 
thereafter — is a supremely chilled session of late-night blues from two 
masters of the form."

The album was released in 1959, and it really is excellent.  Shearing also 
recorded with two other top female vocalists of the era, Nancy Wilson (in 
1960 -- I think it's her best album) and Dakota Staton (in 1958).


Ed Danielson

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