Jazz / Vocal
Vocal Jazz
Swing
Boogie-Woogie
Big Band
Jump Blues
Traditional Pop
Recorded: Dec 2, 1946-1990
Joe Williams (vocals); Shirley Horn (vocals, piano); Ella Fitzgerald, Marlena Shaw (vocals); Marshall Royal (alto saxophone, clarinet); Bill Graham, Joe Evans (alto saxophone); Frank Wess (tenor saxophone, flute); Frank Foster, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Jimmy Forrest (tenor saxophone); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet); Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, John Lynch, Fip Ricard (trumpet); Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell, Bob Murray, Waymon Richardson, Milton Robinson, Henry Wells (trombone); Count Basie, Norman Simmons, Hank Jones (piano); Kenny Burrell (acoustic guitar); Freddie Green, Henry Johnson, Floyd Smith (guitar); Eddie Jones, Bob Badgley (bass); Sonny Payne, Ben Thigpen (drums)
This is basically the budget version of the more comprehensive Every Day: The Best of the Verve Years anthology. While Verve could have easily compiled a better 60 minutes by sticking to Williams' '50s recordings with Count Basie, Joe Williams' Finest Hour shoots for the broader picture, from Williams' pre-Basie big-band work from the late '40s to his swingin'-senior-citizen days of the '80s and '90s. (Still, this is not exactly a retrospective, as there's a 30-year gap between Williams' last Verve session with Basie and the next record he cut for the label, 1987's Every Night). Overall, Finest Hour is a decent sampling of Williams' many stylistic hats -- swinging, scatting, balladeering, and blues-shouting. On half of the tracks, he fronts a big band (either Basie's or Andy Kirk's); on the other half, he sings slow blues or pop ballads (ranging from sublime to syrupy) with a small combo. Not a bad "finest hour," but if you're looking for a finer one, try Blue Note's The Best of Joe Williams.
---Ken Chang, allmusic
Includes liner notes by Brian Priestley |
