Looking to buy some Chris Conner and Lee Wiley

[TheMusicalMarine]

Neither Chris nor Lee are represented at all in my collection. I'd like to rectify that problem. Colletables has some of Conner's Atlantic work in print, and I'm not a stickler for sound, as long as it's bearable. Would that be a way to go? I don't know much about Wiley. Any suggestions welcome, although I'm looking for albums on compact disc.

Thanks

[couw]

the Chris Connor self titled Atlantic is real good. Take a chance!

She's one damn fine singer.

[ghost of miles]

Either one of the Lee Wiley songbook collections on Liberty (are they still in print?). The three albums she did for Columbia are all great--they're on the Condon Mob Mosaic, a pricey way to get them--also available on one of the sketchier labels as well (Jazz Factory, I think). I really like A TOUCH OF THE BLUES and am told that WEST OF THE MOON is even better... WEST OF THE MOON hard to find, though. (You can get most of it on an OOP Bluebird that still floats around sometimes.) I also like the live CD on Uptown as well.

I have mostly Connor's Bethlehems and have been meaning to pick up most of her Atlantic catalogue as well, because I love the one Atlantic CC that I have.

[kinuta]

Re Chris Connor.

If I were you I'd get the three Bethlehem cds first.

1 Sings Lullabys Of Birdland

2 Chris

3 This Is Chris

I'd then get the Atlantic sessions. The ones I have that I suggest are

4 Sings The George Gershwin Almanac Of Song- double cd set

5 Witchcraft

6 He Loves Me , He Loves Me Not

7 In Person

8 I Miss You So

' ' Warm Cool' 2 cd set on 32 Jazz is also great

[Nate Dorward]

Get Connor's Gershwin set on Atlantic. Great stuff.

[Kalo]

I fell in love with Lee Wiley the first time I heard her warm, sweet and husky voice on James Isaacs' Boston radio show in the mid-1980s (he had a cool feature where he'd play a few tunes by a featured vocalist at 2:45 a.m., introduced by Sinatra's "One For My Baby": "It's quarter to three...").

I rushed out and bought the then-newly-reissued 1939-1940 Liberty Music Shop Recordings: Sings the Songs of George & Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter, and the 1940 Music Box and 1943 Schirmer Recordings: Sings the Songs of Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart and Harold Arlen. These were Audiophile Records LPs. I believe I've seen these on CD, too. Originally issued, of course, as albums of 78s, these are reputedly the first Songbook recordings ever devoted to the classic Broadway writers. Even though I've heard a lot more since then, these are still the definitive Wiley to me (especially the Gershwin/Porter). They all have her backed by small Condonite groups.

There are a few nice tracks she did with Jess Stacy on Commodore. I still need to catch up with the Columbia stuff.

I've got a 1981 Japanese RCA mono LP reissue of West of the Moon, and it's pretty good. The arrangements are by Ralph Burns in a 1950s Songbook orchestral style different from, but reminiscent of the kind of backing Fitzgerald and Sinatra were receiving at the time. She sounds a bit nasal throughout the record, almost like she has a cold, though the Wiley warmth comes through winningly. Also, oddly enough, one side of the record has a good deal of reverb while the other does not. (I'm not sure if this is a characteristic of only this particular issue. It's a bit jarring to flip sides, and hard to imagine that the original was done this way on purpose. You'd think a reissue wouldn't introduce such an anomaly, but I'm sure such things happen. Has anyone else noticed this?) Anyway, it wouldn't be my first choice, though Will Friedwald places it very high in his book Jazz Singing.

The only Connor I have is the aforementioned 2-disc 32 Jazz "Warm Cool," which draws from the Atlantic recordings. It was programmed by Connor in collaboration with Friedwald, and it's an excellent anthology. It includes a totally credible vocal version of Ornette's "Lonely Woman."

I haven't felt the need to expand my holdings of Connor yet, but when that urge hits I suppose I'd start with the Bethlehems. The Gershwin Atlantic is tempting, too.

[JSngry]

Just discovering Wiley myself, and haven't heard any of the studio sides yet. But there's an Uptown cd of braodcasts from 1951-52 that is certainly fine, and has whet the appetite for more.

As for Connor, I'm not a fan myself, so maybe my affection for the Atlantic album she did w/Maynard's band (NOT the Roulette one!) is not shared by those who are. But I think it's a wonderful album - great charts (two of Willie Maiden's finest ever are included), everybody swings freely and exuberantly, and Maynard's high notes are in service to the music. It's the one Connor album I've found entirely to my liking, and not just because the charts and band are so good - I like her singing here, too.

Reissued by Collector's Choice, and should be easily available though mail-order/online outlets:

Haven't yet heard the CD, but the original LP was splendidly recorded.

[jazzbo]

Dr. J made me keep listening to Lee Wiley and I "got" her at last and then I got bit by the Condon gang bug and of course she shows up on Town Hall shows and studio sessions. . . . What a talent she was.

David Baldwin's "Devil's Music" label has reissued four (so far) incredible cds that reissue her work chronologically. These are dipping into those "Songbook" sessions now; those are both avaiable also from www.jazzology.com in the Audiophile Records cd series. (As well as two others!) I have Japanese cd copies of the two RCAs, and I have about nine discs from Spain of her work that I am replacing as I can from legitimate sources. Collectables also has her two Columbia 10"s as a cd, so the Mosaic Condon Mob is not the only source.

What a woman. . . I wish there were more biographical information available all under one big cover. And photographs!

Chris Connor. . . I recommend the Bethlehems as a beginning, and I have a handful of Atlantics including the one that Jim rightly praises. I'm becoming a fan of hers. . . . And a fan of Jeri Southerns. Became a STONE COLD PEGGY LEE ADDICT last year. Wow. So much great music to hear!

[sjarrell]

The 32 Jazz two-fer Atlantic comp is swell, if it's still out there. Nice extensive overview of the period. And I think Chris was involved in the track selection.

[brownie]

There's a wonderful Lee Wiley 4CD box from the rip-off people at Definitive 'Manhattan Nights - The Complete Golden Years Studio Sessions' that gathers most of Wiley's best material from 1931 to 1951.

I have most of the material on several vinyls but this one turns out to be a pretty thorough and convenient job.

As for Chris Connor, I would like to add the following three CDs she recorded for the Alfa Jazz label in Japan:

- 'Angel Eyes' with Hank Jones Trio (George Mraz, Keith Copeland), from 1991,

- 'My Funny Valentine' with arrangements by Richard Rodney Bennett, and Ted Nash on sax, from 1992,

- 'Blue Moon' with Mike Abene, from 1995.

She is in good voice on all three.

[TwelveBars]

There is a Rhino twofer "A Jazz Date with Chris Conner/Chris Craft" that is good,

inexpensive, and available.

[brownie]

For Chris' sake, it's Connor not Conner

[Nate Dorward]

There is a Rhino twofer "A Jazz Date with Chris Conner/Chris Craft" that is good, inexpensive, and available.

Actually I don't like that one all that much. Some overcutesy Ralph Sharon arrangements & intrusive bongos on the first disc. But It does have some of my favourite of her tracks too so it's still worth having--esp. the sublime reading of "Moon Ray".

Jim--there are a few previously unreleased live Connor/Ferguson tracks on the CD version of the Gershwin set, which are very much worth hearing. A young, sparkling Jaki Byard on there.

[king ubu]

Big Christ Conner, uhm Christ Connor uhm... you know what I mean... fan here!

I got her three Bethlehems and love them! The self-titled Atlantic is indeed recommended, too, it's just as good as the Bethlehems. With the Jazz Date/Chris Craft twofer, I've had a little bit of trouble, too, but still, there's some fine stuff to be found there. The Gershwin disc I still need to check out, though I have that Collectables release with "In Person" and a cheapo LP added that has some selected tunes from the Gershwin set, so I've had a taste of it...

On Lee Wiley... guess I'll need to get that box brownie mentions! Will add it to the Fruscella box from those same crooks (or not crooks or whatever...)

[frank m]

I know of only one Lee Wiley recording that isn't quite up to snuff (Back Home Again, made when she was past her prime) but everything else is magnificent. The one recording you must hear is the one she did with Bobby Hackett and Joe Bushkin; "Night in Manhattan" every cut of which is a classic. (Need I say I'm biased) But be careful shopping. Amazon has it from various sources, many of which are foreign and some are of suspect quality. Even a good pressing may sound sort of dated (it was made in the 40's) but don't let that deter you. If ever a recording could be said to be perfect, this one is. Hackett's backing is brilliant, and Lee is ... Words fail me.

[sjarrell]

Connor did co-produce the 32 Jazz comp w/ Dorn. I play it more than my Bethlehems, where performances are swell but novelty material (Chiquita from Chihuahua) gives me a headache.

[TheMusicalMarine]

Thanks for the replies. I look forward to acquiring these titles.

[JSngry]

Big Christ Conner, uhm Christ Connor uhm... you know what I mean...

Yeah, I reckon I do!

[JSngry]

Jim--there are a few previously unreleased live Connor/Ferguson tracks on the CD version of the Gershwin set, which are very much worth hearing. A young, sparkling Jaki Byard on there.

Did not know that. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Kalo]

Oy.

Now I have to get Wiley's A Night In Manhattan.

And I'm even pondering, for the first time ever, buying a disc with the words "Maynard Ferguson" in the title. Thanks, JSngry!

But much thanks to sjarrell for convincing me to HOLD OFF from purchasing something (the Bethlehems), at least for the time being.

[Tony Pusey]

I love the 3 Chris Connor Bethlehems. As does wifey, an unusual recommendation and one that carries considerable weight chez nous! Perhaps Hiroshi can help you with the getting if they are unavailable elsewhere, the Toshiba versions sound splendid.

[kinuta]

That's true about the sound quality of the Toshiba -EMI Bethlehem series in toto.

They all sound absolutely great, in fact as I'm typing I'm listening to Teddy Charles from the series. Clear, crisp and with the wonderful warm ambience common to all the TOCJ series.

[montg]

The one recording you must hear is the one she did with Bobby Hackett and Joe Bushkin; "Night in Manhattan" every cut of which is a classic. (

Absolutely--I couldn't agree more with this recommendation. The Hackett & Wiley combination is unbeatable. "Look at me now", "Manhattan"...

This is available on the Condon Mob Mosaic set in wonderful sound, but obviously the set itself wouldn't be the place to start. But I think this session may be out as a single CD somewhere. Maybe try the collector's choice web page.

Just checked--here it is:

lee wiley

[Kalo]

Wow, I forgot that Hackett was on that. The combination sounds delectable.

Now I absolutely have to get it.

Well, it's time for a Wiley revival in my life, anyhow.

[Kalo]

I just clicked on the Collector's Choice link above.

If you're interested in Lee Wiley, Collector's Choice also recommends Barbra Streisand's "Duets," a compilation of duets from throughout her career, including exciting new collaborations with Barry Manilow and Josh Groban!