Blossom Dearie: Little Jazz Bird, CD

Blossom Dearie was one of the unique jazz voices of the second half of the 20th century; one of the great interpreters of American song in the post-war era. She liked to describe herself as a songwriters singer. Blossom Dearie’s work blurred the line between jazz and cabaret. An interpretive minimalist with caviar taste in songs and musicians, she was a genre unto herself. Her preference was for small groups comprising the best jazz musicians available. In the late fifties (the period covered by Little Jazz Bird) these groups invariably featured the guitarists Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis and Mundell Lowe, the bassist Ray Brown and the drummers Jo Jones and Ed Thigpen, with Dearie’s own piano playing by no means outclassed by such stellar performers.