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| 1. | Baltimore Oriole
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| 2. | Little Girl Blue
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| 3. | All or Nothing at All
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| 4. | Traveling Down a Lonely Road
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| 5. | Mother Earth
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| 6. | Love Look Away
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| 7. | The End of a Love Affair
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| 8. | That Old Devil Called Love
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Jazz / Vocal, Vocal Jazz, American Popular Song, Standards, Vocal Jazz
Don Bronstein Original Design Concept, Cover Design
Esmond Edwards Producer
George Eskridge Guitar, Guitar
Jimmy Garrison Bass, Guitar (Bass)
John E Young Piano
John Young Piano
Leonard Feather Liner Notes
Lorez Alexandria Vocals
Phil Thomas Drums, Drums
Roger Marshutz Cover Photo
Ron Malo Engineer
Ronald Wilson Sax (Tenor), Sax (Tenor), Flute, Flute
First time on CD for this 60s vocal jazz treasure! Darkly brilliant vocals from the legendary Lorez Alexandria heard here on a rare small combo session for Chess Records only issued briefly in 1963, but a collector's treasure for years to come. The For Swingers Only title really gets it right, as there's a subtle swing to most of the tunes, even the ballads a way of hitting the rhythms that's quite different than standard jazz vocals, and which really gets at the genius of Alexandria s sound. Instrumentation includes flute and tenor sax, piano from John Young, and nice use of guitar in the rhythm section which really helps further the groove of the set. Although the group's a small one, they make the album one of the boldest, most soul-drenched albums that Lorez ever cut even more so than her better-known albums for Impulse or King Records!
One of the greatest albums ever from Lorez Alexandria - an ultra-hip singer who recorded for Impulse and King, but who sounds especially wonderful on this rare date for Chess Records.
Originally released in 1963, For Swingers Only is singer Lorez Alexandria's tenth album and her fourth for Argo. While Alexandria is best known to ardent jazz fans, she was one of the great interpretive vocalists of her time, and this set is proof of that. Alexandria was a Chicago native who had established her reputation there. That said, she was successful enough to relocate to Los Angeles in 1960 to lend her voice work to soundtracks, television commercials, and recordings, and to hold a club gig as a headliner. Unlike some of her previous Argo dates, this one was recorded in Chicago at Ter-Mar Recording Studios. Her band for the session included some regulars like guitarist George Eskridge and drummer Phil Thomas. The great Chicago pianist John Young and the amazing reed and woodwind studio player Ronald Wilson were also on the date. Her bass player for the session was Jimmy Garrison from the John Coltrane Quartet. The material is ambitious. Alexandria had cut Hoagy Carmichael's "Baltimore Oriole," before on the Deluxe label, but this version -- with its slippery, slightly Latin rhythm and popping flute -- is more sultry and atmospheric, and carries within it a loneliness that the earlier one doesn't touch. Her reading of Rodgers & Hart's "Little Girl Blue" is, though this may seem blasphemous, every bit the equal of Nina Simone's -- especially with its deeply soulful a cappella opening. The flute adds exponentially as it softly winds through the ends of lines, filling the space between the rhythm section and the singer. The sadness literally drips from her mouth, saturating the listener. These aren't all sad songs, however. The strutting "All or Nothing at All" is a finger-popping swinger with gorgeous work by Garrison, Young, and Wilson. Given that there are only eight cuts on this set, each one counts -- though these are far from one or two-minute selections, and they dig into their grooves and allow Alexandria to stretch out. The beautiful guitar work on "Traveling Down a Lonely Road" gives the listener the feeling that the protagonist doesn't mind so much. It is the first known vocal recording of the song -- it originally appeared as an instrumental in Federico Fellini's La Strada. Eskridge and drummer Thomas, with his subtle breakbeat style in the intro, set up a beautiful transaction for the piano, bass, and lilting flute work. The true highlight of the set is "Mother Earth," a 12/8 blues with Wilson blowing a gritty tenor and Garrison strolling the bassline in full gutbucket mode. Alexandria allows some of that large throaty range of hers out of the box and lets it rip. This is simply among Lorez Alexandria's most stylized, disciplined, soulful, and satisfying recording sessions, and is highly recommended. [While this fine album had been out of print in the United States for decades, Chicago's own Dusty Groove imprint licensed the master from Universal and had it remastered for release on compact disc for the first time in 2008.] ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Lorez Alexandria
Active Decades: '60s and '70s
Born: Aug 14, 1929 in Chicago, IL
Died: May 22, 2001 in Gardena, CA
Genre: Vocal
Styles: Standards, Vocal Jazz, Vocalese
A solid singer who is superior at interpreting lyrics, gives a soulful feeling to each song, and improvises with subtlety, Lorez Alexandria was a popular attraction for several decades. She sang gospel music with her family at churches starting in the mid-'40s and worked in Chicago nightclubs in the 1950s. With the release of several albums for King during 1957-1959, Alexandria became popular beyond her hometown, and by the early '60s she was living and working in Los Angeles. In addition to the King label, her earlier recording sessions were for Argo and Impulse, while her later albums were for Discovery and Muse. Despite a long period off records (only a few private recordings during the 1965-1976 period), Alexandria survived through the many changes in musical styles and could be heard in excellent form up until she retired in the mid-'90s. Not long after retiring, Alexandria suffered a stroke, and her health declined until her death in May 2001.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
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