Personnel:
Ruth Price (vcl), Joe Newman (tp), Frank Wess (ts), Lou
Stein (p, arr), Norman Paris (p), Frank Cerchia, Tony Mottola (g), Ed Arndt,
Milt Hinton (b), Ellis Tollin (d), Manny Albam (arr)
The Best Voices Time Forgot
Collectible Albums by Top Female Vocalists
· Collector's Edition
· 2 Original LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art, Liner Notes
· Complete Personnel Details
· Newly Remastered in 24-Bit
In May 1953, a sprightly 23-year-old girl by the name Ruth
Price took the audience at Birdland by surprise when she jumped on stage to
sing with the Johnny Smith trio. Ruth, a recent discovery of Charlie ventura’s
manager Don Palmer, hailed from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where she was born
in 1930.
She was a former ballet dancer and had only switched to
singing recently. A month later though, Ruth was back to dancing, mostly
because her reputation as a ballerina cast enough of a shadow that no club
believed she was serious about singing jazz. Luckily, at Palmer’s suggestion,
in the summer of 1954 Ruth found herself singing with the Charlie Ventura
quintet for about a week, replacing regular singer Mary Ann McCall who was on
sick leave. This was Ruth’s first major job, and even though it was only a sub,
it opened the doors to a number of club engagements.
In 1955 she signed for Kapp Records, and her first album for
the label was "My Name is Ruth Price… I Sing," an extremely
encouraging debut for a young woman who was just turning 25. We hear a Ruth
full of fresh swing, with fine control, good range and even better phrasing,
capable of delivering sensitive interpretations of the lyrics in a variety of
approaches.
A year later a second album for the label followed. It was
titled "The Party's Over," and in many ways it confirmed her best
qualities, expanding on the many facets of her talents. Her assured delivery of
each tune leaves little doubt that, despite the initial concerns of club
owners, Ruth Price actually was —by nature— a jazz singer.
TRACKLIST
01. My Shining Hour (Arlen-Mercer) 2:15
02. Ev’ry Time (Martin-Blane) 4:11
03. Calypso Blues (George-Cole) 3:05
04. I Don’t Want to Walk Without You (Styne-Loesser) 3:18
05. Who Am I? (Leonard Bernstein) 3:48
06. Gentleman Friend (Horwitt-Lewine) 2:48
07. I’m Old Fashioned (Kern-Mercer) 2:18
08. Give Me the Simple Life (Ruby-Bloom) 3:10
09. Sleighride in July (Burke-Van Heusen) 2:14
10. Shadrack (Robert MacGimsey) 4:12
11. Someday My Prince Will Come (Morey-Churchill) 3:06
12. Exactly Like You (McHugh-Fields) 2:39
13. By Myself (Dietz-Schwartz) 2:04
14. Street of Dreams (Young-Lewis) 2:47
15. If I Love Again (Murray-Oakland) 3:03
16. (I’m Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over (Magidson-Wrubel)
2:40
17. I Had the Craziest Dream (Warren-Gordon) 3:04
18. Bye and Bye (Rodgers-Hart) 2:36
19. You Stepped Out of a Dream (Kahn-Brown) 2:20
20. Take My Love (Wolf-Herron-Sinatra) 2:31
21. I Am the Girl (James Shelton) 3:56
22. Something to Remember You By (Dietz-Schwartz) 2:08
23. I Guess I’ll Have to Dream the Rest (Green-Stoner-Block)
2:47
24. The Party’s Over (Green-Comden-Schwartz) 2:30
Sources:
Tracks #1-12, from the album “My Name Is Ruth Price... I
Sing!” (Kapp KL-1006)
Tracks #13-24, from the album “The Party’s Over” (Kapp
KL-1054)
Ruth Price, vocals in all tracks
Personnel on "My Name Is Ruth Price":
Tracks #1-12: Lou Stein, piano & arrangements; Milt
Hinton, bass; Ellis Tollin, drums. Featuring Joe Newman, trumpet; Frank Wess,
tenor sax; Tony Mottola, guitar; Manny Albam, arrangements (#6 & 11).
Recorded in New York City, June 23 (#1,2,5,8), July 12
(#3,7,9,10), July 14 (#6,11),
July 20 (#4, 12), 1955
Personnel on "The Party's Over":
Tracks #16,18,20: Norman Paris, piano; Frank Cerchia,
guitar; Ed Arndt, bass.
Tracks #13,14,17,19,21,23: vibes and drums added.
Tracks #15,24: Norman Paris, piano.
Recorded in New York City, October 16 (#13,14,22,23),
October 17 (#16,19,21),
October 18 (#17,18,20), December 7 (#15,24), 1956
Original recordings produced by David Kapp
This compilation produced for CD release by Jordi Pujol
Hi Fi / Mono · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered