Each month Peter Batten recommends a recording that jazz fans may wish to add to their personal library.

Peggy Lee

Black Coffee

    There were many great albums by singers in the 1950s as the era of the long playing record began: Billie Holiday Lady in Satin, Mel Torme with the Marty Paich Dek-tette, Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers. One very special album now almost forgotten is Black Coffee.

    In 1953 Peggy Lee seized the LP opportunity to create a carefully planned 10 inch album which would show the variety of her repertoire and include a selection of great songs. The album was much admired at the time both for its conception and the superb quality of Lee’s singing. She was accompanied by an excellent small group which featured on several titles the powerful trumpet of Pete Candoli, Conti’s brother. Her version of Easy Living is matched only by Holiday, while her sultry You’re My Thrill is very special indeed. This is an album of real class with Lee at her very best.

[Hallmark CD 710992 has the bonus of extra tracks recorded in 1956 added to the original selection]