My Gentleman Friend

by Blossom Dearie

Overview

The most expressive of jazz vocalists, Blossom Dearie's first three records for Verve -- all masterpieces -- displayed an artist with an uncommon ability to transfer a well-worn standard into a new song, usually informed by her light touch with piano and voice as well as her delightful coquette persona. My Gentleman Friend, her final full-length for the label, suffers only in comparison to her previous work; with fewer all-time standards available from her performing repertoire, Dearie was forced to resort to a few French titles and many middle-rank or then-current standards. It doesn't come as a surprise, then, that the song with the most compositional weight -- George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" -- is the highlight. Dearie gracefully tiptoes through the classic, her reading rosy and meditative. Another Gershwin tune, "Little Jazz Bird," leads off the record with Dearie affecting her usual blend of warmth and insouciance. Aside from those two, the rest of the material is Blossom by numbers: simply average, forgettable songs given solid readings. The backing very nearly makes up for the lack of great compositions -- Dearie leads a quartet comprising her piano, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/2023
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031592588
Rank:	84433

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Blossom Dearie   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Ray Brown   Guest Artist,Bass
Ed Thigpen   Guest Artist,Drums
Kenny Burrell   Guest Artist,Guitar
Bobby Jaspar   Flute

Technical Credits

Norman Granz   Producer
Bryan Koniarz   Producer
Ken Druker   Executive Producer
Carolyn Leigh   Composer
Bruce Sievier   Composer
Arnold B. Horwitt   Composer
Jean Feline   Composer
Jayme Pieruzzi   Mastering
Lawrence Stewart   Liner Notes
Hollis King   Art Direction
Richard Lewine   Composer
Sherniece Smith   Art Producer
Garrett Howard   Cover Photo
Paul Misraki   Composer
Bob Irwin   Mastering
Cy Coleman   Composer
Carlos Kase   Audio Research
Charles Trenet   Composer
Mark Smith   Production Assistant
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
R. Lewine   Composer